First-time buyers looking to buy a home in Ireland have €15,000 less in savings – a 23% fall since this time last year according to a new report from Daft Mortgages.
The analysis found that the fall in savings, combined with rising house prices pushing the average cost of a house up by €30,000 in the last year, and less mon, meant that those buying their first home this year might face paying an extra €700 a year in mortgage repayments.
General manager at the property site, Paul Monahan said: “It could be argued that the 15pc reduced saving and therefore 9pc reduced spending power for these house hunters may be a result of spending bouncing back as the Covid-19 pandemic restrictions lifted or could also be due to these customers feeling the pinch due to rising cost of living”
House-hunters have €27,000 less spending power than a year ago, the Daft report found, a reduction of 9%.
The housing crisis has continued to plague hard-pressed families seeking a home of their own, with the CSO reporting a 14.4% price rise in the year to May.
However, some commentators believe that the expected hike in interest rates being passed onto customers after the European Central Bank took anti-inflationary measures may act to cool the market.
New figures from the Banking and Payments Federation showed that the average first-time buyer mortgage was €263,000 in June, an increase of €30,000 on what a typical first-time buyer borrowed a year ago.
That borrowing was at the highest level since the Federation’s reports began in 2003.
However, the number of first-time buyers approved for a mortgage in June was down slightly to 2,67, compared to 2,755 in the same month last year, the Federation said.