Irish Consumers Focused on Home Improvements as they struggle to move Property
Posted on: 15 Apr 2026
Consumer sentiment research supported by credit unions has found that home improvement and development is an ongoing focus for households in Ireland, with almost half (45%) of consumers planning significant home improvement spending in the next two years, and a further 27% planning a ‘refresh’ such as painting and decorating.
The perhaps surprising resilience of planned spending on home improvements in the face of weaker consumer sentiment likely owes much to needs-based refurbishments. However, the latest sharp rise in oil prices may be causing some consumers to plan energy-related upgrades of their homes. Enhanced SEAI grants could be another factor in this regard.
The research shows clear continuity, with again, just under half of respondents (49%) stating that they have undertaken significant home improvements in the past two years.
Focused on Irish consumers’ current and planned spending on home improvements, the research was conducted in partnership with Core Research as part of the March 2026 Credit Union Consumer Sentiment Survey research.
Why and How – Moving and Financing
The research found that nearly two in five consumers (39%) feel that problems finding a suitable or affordable home to buy are playing a significant role in their planned spending on home improvements. Some 13% of consumers say difficulties in moving to another property have influenced their spending on home improvements ‘a great deal’ and a further 26% say it exerted ‘a fair amount’ of influence.
With regard to financing home improvements, the most common approach cited (45%) was funding from savings, while roughly one in four consumers (23%) say they will finance their home improvement spend from their current incomes.
The research found that just one in four consumers (27%) say they will borrow to finance their home improvement spend. Within this group, borrowing from credit unions (14%) is more prevalent than borrowing from banks (9%).
Commenting on the research, Austin Hughes noted; “With two in five consumers saying that problems in finding a suitable or affordable property are playing a key role in their home improvement spend, the sentiment survey sheds further light on continuing problems in Ireland’s housing market”.
David Malone, CEO of the Irish League of Credit Unions commented; “The survey suggests that even in challenging times, Irish consumers want and need to maintain and improve their homes. It is encouraging that the local credit union is regarded as the most important source of lending for home improvements. This type of support is at the heart of what credit unions do every day.”
A full copy of the survey analysis may be found here.
ENDS
The Credit Union Irish Consumer Sentiment Survey is a monthly survey of a nationally representative sample of 1,000 adults. Since May 2019, Core Research have undertaken the survey administration and data collection for the Survey. The research findings detailed were part of the March survey which was live between the 4th – 17th March 2026.