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.
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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.
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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.
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