First-time buyers have up to €300k for home

FIRST-TIME buyers have up to €300,000 on average to spend on their first home, according to new figures from the Central Bank.

The majority of first-time buyers are also snapping up properties outside of the capital with just over a third buying homes in Dublin.

The figures show that the average first-time buyer now earns just under €70,000 per year – a figure that includes single people and couples – but more than half of buyers are single.

A maximum mortgage of threeand-a-half times their salary would net them €245,000. The average deposit of around €50,000 to buy brings the total potential spend at their disposal to around €295,000.

The average home bought by first-time buyers last year cost about €250,000 and required a deposit of €50,000, according to stats from the Central Bank.

Their figures showed that the average mortgage drawn down was almost €186,000 on homes of more than €250,000.

The figures also showed that the average annual income of firsttime buyers rose by more than €2,500 to €67,287.

This is up from almost €64,800 the previous year –a 4% increase.

Most buyers bought their first home alone meaning they did not have two salaries to qualify for the mortgage.

For second and subsequent buyers the average loan was almost €218,000, with an average property price of almost €391,000 and an average income of more than €106,000.

The figures also showed that house prices are rising by almost 10% per year across the country pushing homes even further beyond the reach of thousands.

The average borrower’s salary is €22,000 more than the average wage in Ireland of just over €45,000 – meaning the majority of wouldbe buyers are locked out of the market.

Fianna Fáil finance spokesman Deputy Michael McGrath warned: ‘Many of the current generation, if present trends continue, will simply never own a home themselves, that is the reality.’

And he warned the Government needed to change the focus of the housing market from making it easier for first-time buyers to borrow which helps push up prices to reducing the cost of the homes in the first place.

‘What these figures demonstrate is that home ownership is now beyond the capacity of a huge number of people,’ Mr McGrath said yesterday.

‘The Government has focussed on increasing prices with a view to kick-starting supply of new homes.

‘We have always argued that the focus should be on reducing the cost of delivering new homes by tackling building costs, the taxation element, development levies and so on. But young people these days face a mountain to climb in their efforts to buy a home.’

And struggling homeowners’ campaigner David Hall, of the Irish Mortgage Holders’ Organisation, said: ‘It’s no wonder no one can afford a home now. These figures are from 2016 so will be even worse now. With prices fast going up it’s becoming a dream for most people to buy a home now. We simply need to build more homes.’

A quarter of first-time buyers had waited between four and six years before finally owning their first home, the Central Bank found.

‘One in six were taking seven years or longer. Some 36% of firsttime buyers were over 30 and 17% were older than 35,’ the Central Bank said yesterday.

More than half – 56% – of firsttime buyers had a fixed mortgage last year, with 44% on standard variable rates.

Most first-time buyers last year were single borrowers – 56% – while more than a third of them bought properties in Dublin. Almost 90% of first-time buyers had jobs, the Central Bank said.

More than a third of first-time buyers are now over 30 as spiralling prices force people to delay climbing on the property ladder.

‘Young people face a mountain’ One third bought property in Dublin