Those setting out say they wouldn't wish it on anyone; those in the midst of it say it can be just too time-consuming and expensive to give it enough attention, while those at the end of the cycle would like to just get rid of half of it and never worry about it again. And yet, Irish people seem more desperate than ever to get in on it. Homeownership.
The evolution of home-owner is long, exciting, at times soul-destroying, but most of the time a process engendering joy, satisfaction and security. When you first set out you're happily fixated with frying pans and ornaments, but within a decade or two you may just as quickly find yourself fatigued with furnishings and jaded by junk.
Sheila Bradshaw is 78, happy to represent the mature homeowner for this survey. She has been living in the same sprawling, elegant Georgian home overlooking the sea in Dublin's Sandymount for almost 43 years.
"I thought when I moved out here with Bob (her husband) that I was moving out to the country," she smiles. "There was no roof on the house, no kitchen and we had four young children." The house, built in 1856 and now worth about £500,000, cost the young couple £900.
Sitting the front room we find ourselves on the suite of furniture her mother gave her soon after they moved in. "I've had it recovered," she says, adding that she was always a great one for auctions. "I got a chest of utensils at one, though I didn't know what utensils I was getting. I got wonderful copper pots and pans." Looking around the room she points to bright oil and watercolour paintings, some of which she painted herself. Another is by Patrick Hennesy.
"I have masses of photographs in boxes and books and a lot of bits and pieces of personal things like that blue and white rose vase," she says, pointing to the marble fireplace. "I have far too much furniture, oh yes. I sit around and wonder `Will I throw that out? Will I get a skip? Will I try and sell it?' It always seems to entail so much organising, but I often think I'd like to get everything out of the house and rebuild parts."
At the other end of the evolutionary scale are Svenn Braamark and his wife Tajma, a Norwegian couple who, two years after beginning their search, have yet to become homeowners. "I think we may have found a house finally in Crumlin," says Svenn. "It takes up a lot of your time mentally."
"A lot of heartbeats," adds Tajma. "There are so many ifs and so many maybes, and you never know the right answer. It's nerve-wracking. Oh Jesus, everyone I know knows we are looking for a house, and they say `We know. We've been there.' I wouldn't wish it on anybody," she says.
Although "home" is not yet definite, their time is still consumed by concerns about floorboards, bathroom suites and paint colours. "We will have a sunny, yellow livingroom," dreams Tajma. "A red bedroom, a green kitchen . . ."
Angela O'Connor, an interior designer based in Blackrock, Dublin, points out that people's attitudes to their home changes as their lives and needs change.
"I find these days that young people are in an awful rush to get everything done immediately. They want everything from the colander to the video - right now - whereas years ago, young couples could spend their early years with one of their parents, and would later make do with the table from their mother and an old second-hand bed." The situation today is ironic when one considers that prices are so much higher.
Alina Lyons, a 26-year-old who has been living in her artisan cottage near Dublin's South Circular Road for two years, has calmed down, she says about her initial obsession with house matters, but becoming a homeowner has changed her priorities.
"At first, of course, my interest in interiors completely replaced my interest in clothes and music. I didn't actually move into the house for about a year as it need quite a bit of structural work, but I drew endless pictures of the sittingroom, and where I'd hang a picture and where I'd put a plant. In the end I decided minimalism would be the cheapest way to approach it so I painted all the walls white and put wooden floors in. The bathroom was my only indulgence." She went to England last year, and instead of going wild on fashion, she went to the interiors shop IKEA.
"I went mad buying silly things. I bought cutlery, tea-towels, a glittery shower curtain, dog-shaped ice-cube makers.
"I think I'm over the madness, but my eye has changed. When I'm holidays, for instance, I wouldn't be looking at jewellery or clothes. I'd be on the look-out for carvings and rugs. I think I know I have what I need, but I'd still have time to flick through interiors magazines."
Karl Geraghty and his wife Paula have two children. They have been a homeowners for 12 years - eight of which have been in their current home in Palmerstown, Co Dublin. Karl says he does not have time to dream too much about the house.
"We do think about the house but not constantly. We'd go through stages. At the moment we're getting the floors done. If we think we'd like to get something done though, we decide to do it and do it. We just wouldn't have the time to be going around pricing and choosing, especially not with two kids.
"Having the kids of course changed our attitudes dramatically. Both money and time are not as freely available. Even things like tidying up have to be planned for and slotted in."
He says they have already accumulated their fair share of junk.
"A few years back we were very into having candles all over the place, so we have hundreds of candle holders and bowls for floating candles and candle accessories. In a few years I suppose we'll be wanting to replace the wooden floors with tiles. A lot of what we do with the house is all about trends. In terms of planning for the future of the house, we don't have much time for that either. We'd never just get a new roof in to make it last longer. We do what needs doing and that's it."
Once a homeowner, always a homeowner. That's the overall impression. Although Sheila has lived many years in her home, for instance, she never tires of imagining what she might do with it if she won the Lotto.
"I have a real affection for the house," she says. "I adore the view I have of the sea. So much has happened here. . . But I must say, I don't have huge affection for a lot of the furniture. I'd love to do a big clear-out. I'd love to build a new kitchen and a veranda. I spend a lot of time thinking about what I'd change. . . But this house is my home, my shell and I don't think I could bare to live anywhere else."