Median value of homes bought by first-time buyers has risen to nearly €372,000
The median first-time buyer property value rose by more than €100,000 between 2019 and 2024 to almost €372,000, data shows.
The latest Mortgage Market Profile Report from lobby group
Banking & Payments Federation Ireland
(BPFI) shows a big increase in first-time buyer property and mortgage values and a rise in mortgage repayments.
The report, which covers the second half of last year and includes a comparison between 2019 and 2024, showed the median first-time buyer property value rose 37 per cent.
It also said one in three first-time buyer homes exceeded values of €400,000 last year, three times the 2019 share.
READ MORE
It also showed that the median first-time buyer mortgage value increased by €78,000, or 36 per cent, between 2019 and 2024 to almost €294,000.
[
Irish house price inflation at 7.5% in April as supply shortages bite
Opens in new window
]
Over the period, the share of higher-value first-time buyer mortgages, classed as being above €300,000, more than doubled to 44 per cent.
The share of lower-value mortgages, classed as being up to €200,000, more than halved to 21 per cent.
Meanwhile, median first-time buyer monthly mortgage repayments jumped by 48 per cent to €1,400 last year, up almost €500 on median repayments in 2019.
This comes as the median basic household income for first-time buyers increased by 22 per cent from €70,000 in 2019 to €85,000 last year. The median mover income increased 23 per cent to €120,000, up €22,000 over the period.
More than half (56 per cent) of first-time buyer mortgages in 2019 had repayments up to €1,000, but this dropped to 19 per cent in 2024.
Meanwhile, 58 per cent of mover mortgages had repayments over €1,500 last year, up from 33 per cent five years earlier.
BPFI chief executive Brian Hayes said the home mortgage market in Ireland had 'changed significantly in the past five years, as buyers shift to higher value properties'.
'While the share of first-time buyer properties valued at over €400,000 in 2024 trebled since 2019 to 36 per cent, almost two-thirds of mover properties were valued at over €400,000 in 2024,' he said.
Mr Hayes said the increase in property prices and mortgage values have come as the median basic household income for first-time buyers increased by 22 per cent from €70,000 in 2019 to €85,000 last year.
The median mover income increased by €22,000, or 23 per cent, over the same period to €120,000.
Taking last year, the number of first-time buyer mortgage drawdowns rose by 2.5 per cent year-on-year to 26,242, but the value of first-time buyer drawdowns increased by 8.4 per cent to more than €7.8 billion, the highest value since 2006.
Mover purchase or home mover activity declined, with volumes down by 6.3 per cent year-on-year to 9,030, but values rose by 1.9 per cent to almost €3.2 billion.
The average first-time buyer and home mover mortgage values both reached their highest levels since the data series began in 2003, at €298,073 and €351,479 respectively.
Within the first-time buyer market, the number of mortgages to buy or build new properties increased by 13.4 per cent to 9,755, the highest volume since 2008.
While the number of first-time buyer mortgages on existing properties fell by 2.9 per cent to 16,487, the value of those mortgages reached the highest level since the data series began in 2005, at almost €4.7 billion.
Mover new mortgage volumes fell by 1.4 per cent year-on-year to 1,972 in 2024, the lowest volume since 2015.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Times
an hour ago
- Irish Times
Former Ires activist Vision to lose one board nominee as it cuts stake below 3%
Ires Reit shareholder Vision Capital, which secured board seats for two nominees last year to resolve a standoff with the company, is on track to see one of those representatives step down after it reduced its holding in the business below 3 per cent. Toronto-based Vision, led by Jeff Olin, started a year-long campaign in April 2023 for a sale or break-up of Ireland's largest private apartments owner . It reached a truce 14 months ago that resulted in two candidates it put forward joining the Dublin-listed company's board. Vision owned about 5 per cent of the stock at the time. The two directors were one-time chief operating officer of Canada's CIBC Bank Richard Nesbitt and Amy Freedman, an investment banker turned corporate consultant. They were part of a unanimous board conclusion last August, following a strategic review, that a sale or break-up of the company would not be in investors' best interests. Vision subsequently cut its stake in Ires, which is led by chief executive Eddie Byrne . Last September, its shareholding fell below 4 per cent and it reduced its holding further on Tuesday to 2.96 per cent, according to stock exchange filings. READ MORE The standstill agreement between Ires and Vision last year provides that Ms Freedman would step down from the board if the investment firm's stake were to fall below 3 per cent. Shares in Ires, which has 3,734 residential units in Dublin, have rebounded almost 16 per cent so far this year to €1.05, driven by falling European Central Bank (ECB) interest rates which have boosted investor appetite for property stocks. Still, the stock has pulled back by about 5 per cent from highs reached earlier this month as investors digest the Government's planned reform of rent controls . A planned new nationwide control system – set to fully kick in from March 2026 – would see rent increases for tenancies capped in most cases by inflation or a maximum cap of 2 per cent. However, landlords would be able to reset rents at the going market rate when a tenant leaves. Smaller landlords with three or fewer units will have to offer rolling six-year tenancies, while large ones will not be able to evict a tenant who has complied with their obligations except in very limited circumstances. Rent control for new apartments constructed following enactment of the legislation would be linked to inflation without the 2 per cent cap. This, the Government said, should 'provide certainty, clarity and encourage investment'.
Irish Times
an hour ago
- Irish Times
Creeslough: Planning permission refused for petrol station site of explosion in which 10 people died
An Coimisiún Pleanála has overturned a grant of planning permission for a new filling station on the site of the explosion in Creeslough , Co Donegal, in which 10 people died. Donegal County Council granted permission in February to Vivo Shell Limited to redevelop a service station and shop at the site. The decision was appealed by a number of family members of those killed in the October 2022 blast. An Coimisiún Pleanála on Friday turned down the application. READ MORE The planning authority said the proposed plan was 'out of character' with its surroundings in the village. The body said 'Having regard to the existing character and the prevailing pattern of development in Creeslough, it is considered that the proposed development (as amended), by reason of its overall architectural treatment, scale and design, would be out of character with its surroundings, would seriously detract from the architectural character and setting of Creeslough and the streetscape and approach from Letterkenny generally.' The authority said the proposed development would be contrary to the County Development Plan. 'To permit the proposed scheme (as amended) at this prominent location could have such a negative effect on the visual amenity and local character of Creeslough as to negatively impact on the wider, long-term regeneration and renewal of the village. [ Creeslough: 'I can't get my head around how a site can be built on when there's a criminal investigation' Opens in new window ] 'The proposed development would, therefore, seriously injure the visual amenities of the area and the proper planning and sustainable development of the area.' The proposed rebuild had allowed for the demolition of the existing building and the construction of a new structure that includes a shop, post office, deli, off-licence, and fuel forecourt. A memorial garden and light-based sculpture with 10 metal poles commemorating those who perished in the tragedy was also planned for the site. Many of the families who lost loved ones in the tragedy, however, said this was an insult to their memory considering they died in the metal and rubble of the blast. One bereaved family member said: 'This is terrific news. When we got the news yesterday that there would not be an oral hearing we were so disappointed and feared the worst. 'We simply do not want a new service station on the site in which our loved ones died.'
Irish Times
2 hours ago
- Irish Times
Leaving Cert economics: A ‘great paper' with topical questions
A 'very topical' higher-level economics paper featured a broad mix of macro and micro questions, but students hoping for high marks needed to have studied the full course, teachers have said. Rob Quinlan, an economics teacher at the Institute of Education, said that the paper drew on topics such as GP numbers, pension auto-enrolment, hospitality closures, sustainability, the increased price of chocolate and international trade. 'Students who are alert to the unfolding events and economic discussions happening beyond the classroom will find that every chapter has real context, a real place in people's lives,' Mr Quinlan said. Pádraig Murphy, ASTI subject representative for economics and a teacher at St Declan's College in Cabra, said that students liked the topicality of the paper. READ MORE 'It was a fair paper that rewarded people who worked hard and kept up to date with current affairs,' he said. Section A Mr Quinlan said that section A was short questions that skewed slightly towards microeconomics. 'This will have favoured students who find the material more conducive to quick, direct answers, with staple concepts like cost benefit analysis, Germany's hosting of the Euro 2024 tournament, inflation and the minimum wage,' said Mr Quinlan. The only really tricky twist in this section occurred in question eight (B) which asked about 'greenwashing' and market failure. 'While the concepts are not themselves hard, the layout of the question was essentially a reverse-engineered version of the typical approach where students need to state the definitions. This will push those looking for the highest grades to sit back and reconfigure their approaches,' said Mr Quinlan. Section B 'The longer questions of section B were all rooted in important new topics but required a really broad knowledge of the course. If you had hoped to get away with only learning a select few chapters, you'll have found the scope of this paper tough. 'Q11 on health insurance and healthcare provision was a perfect balance of topics and scales that tested students' grasp of the full spectrum of factors at play in this pressing issue. 'Q12 on GDP and GNI was interesting in its emphasis on the latter as it was a good way to show the influence of multinationals on Ireland's economy. GNI also appears in Q13 in the context of international aid and the Official Development Fund (ODA). 'Q14's tech focus not only reflected key news stories (eg Amazon's expansion) but tasked students with considering more novel areas like Ireland's market economy in agriculture and sports. This was paired with fairly standard questions on supply and demand, as well as a gig economy that was similar to 2021,' said Mr Quinlan. Mr Quinlan said that question 15 on housing prices and mortgage relief will surely be familiar from discussions both in and out of the classroom. Question 16 focused on the topical issue of hospitality sector closures. 'This shows that a student looking to really succeed in the exams needs to keep an eye on what is happening in the world around them, as that is as good an indicator of what to expect as past papers.,' said Mr Quinlan. 'Overall, this was a great paper for those who really grasped how important economics is to their lives in the country and the world on the whole.' On the ordinary level paper, Mr Murphy said that it was balanced, fair and appropriately pitched.
