Bank of Ireland has today released its latest Economic Pulse. The survey is conducted by Ipsos MRBI on behalf of Bank of Ireland with 1,000 households and over 2,000 businesses on a range of topics including the economy, their financial situation, spending plans, house price expectations and business activity.
The Consumer Pulse came in at 96.6 this month, up 0.2 on last month and 6.9 on this time last year following the shock Brexit vote. While households’ view of the economy and their own financial prospects was little changed on the month, they were more upbeat about their current financial situation.
The data indicates that ongoing employment and income gains contributed to this, with the July survey indicating that 40% consider it is easy to find or change jobs, up from 30% a year ago, while two in five are also expecting a pay rise in the next 12 months. Over two in five households indicated that were holding out on spending money because they weren’t sure what way economic policy was going to go.
On the wage front, one in three firms are planning on increasing basic pay in the next 12 months, while two in five workers are expecting a pay rise. While Brexit is a worry for many firms and the related uncertainty has taken a toll on sentiment, two in three businesses still have ambitions to expand over the next 1 to 3 years. Of these, one third is looking to actively pursue opportunities to grow, with the other two thirds adopting a more cautious approach to growth.
The share of survey respondents expecting house prices to increase by more than 5% over the coming year ticked up in the month, taking the series to a new high of 118.3. The results also show that 57% think it is a good time to sell, with the Dublin figure higher at 65%.
Furthermore, some households are opting to renovate their existing property instead of moving. CSO data show that spending on improvements was up significantly in the first quarter of this year compared to the same period in 2016, while the latest Pulse results indicate that 27% are likely to spend a large sum of money on home improvements or renovations in the next 12 months.
Source: www.businessworld.ie
