Young men in Dublin the winners in economic recovery

Young men living in Dublin have benefited most from the economic recovery, with older women living in Connacht/Ulster faring the worst, a new survey from Aviva reveals.

The survey, of some 1,280 adults, offers a snapshot of current attitudes to family finances – and they don’t look too encouraging, with little pointing to consumer confidence in general or at a household level.

“Time will tell whether this is merely a glitch in the momentum of the recovery or a deeper malaise in the financial wellbeing of the Irish family,” the survey says.

Fewer than one in five people feel that the economic recovery has benefited them, with just 3 per cent of the total “agreeing strongly” that it has been of benefit.

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More than one in two (55 per cent) say they have not benefitted. Most of those who have done well are in Dublin (23 per cent), with just 14 per cent in Connacht/Ulster agreeing. There is also a gender split; more men (24 per cent) than women (14 per cent) feel that the recovery has benefited them.

Most striking perhaps, is the breakdown in age: a quarter of those polled in the under-44 category are enjoying the recovery, but this shrinks to just 9 per cent for those aged 55-64, and 11 per cent for those aged between 45-54.

Savings

But if people are not yet feeling the joys of the recovery, their response, it seems, is to save more, for fear that the outlook might deteriorate.

Six out of 10 respondents say the fear of future uncertainty has made them “more likely” to save – though they are not necessarily likely to save greater amounts. Just 13 per cent say that recent uncertainty has made them less likely to save.

Those under the age of 24 (18-24) are more inclined to save, and are managing to save an average of €291 a month (excluding pension contributions) – significantly more than those aged between 45-54, who, weighed down by the cost of rearing children and hefty mortgages perhaps, are saving only an average of €215 a month.

While 88 per cent say saving money is important, three in four say they are not saving as much as they would like.

Overall, 80 per cent of respondents in the survey, conducted between October 7th and 13th, have at least one form of savings or investments, with credit unions and bank deposits the most popular platform, and they are typically saving about €4,727 a year, or 13 per cent of their income

Home ownership

The survey also highlights the difficulties in buying a home. There is a “wall of pent-up demand” from first-time buyers, and it’s clear that the preference among Irish people is still to own their own home, with 91 per cent saying they would prefer to own their own property.

However, while 60 per cent of respondents do currently own their own home (for comparison, the 2011 Census showed 71 per cent of people owning their own home), just 35 per cent of those in the 24-35 age group polled does, down from the 40 per cent reported in the 2011 Census.

A significant number of respondents (8 per cent) report living at home, and unsurprisingly, almost one in two of those are in the 18-24 age group. More surprising perhaps, are the numbers in the 25-34 age group who still live at home, at 14 per cent.

Given the obvious desire to own their own home, the survey shows people are not afraid of putting the work in to save their deposit. Two-thirds of those saving for a deposit cut back or stopped socialising in order to do so, 60 per cent reduced their spend on holidays and 17 per cent moved back in with their parents.

And it seems that people are listening to all those personal finance articles telling people to cut back on the flat whites – one in three reduced their spending on coffee.