One in four first-time buyers moving county to buy home

More than 40% of first time homebuyers in Wicklow, Meath and Kildare last year were based in Dublin, as new figures show an increase in cross-county purchases.

Banking and Payments Federation Ireland’s latest mortgage market profile shows one in four first time buyers nationally are moving county to buy their first home.

The figures are even higher in Leinster where more than half of first time buyers are crossing county lines to get on the property ladder.

Buyers from Dublin accounted for between 55% and 60% of purchases of semi-detached and terraced homes in Meath and Kildare in the second half of last year.

Dublin purchasers also accounted for at least 10% of the properties bought in 11 other counties ranging from Cavan to Wexford.

BPFI’s Chief Executive Brian Hayes said the figures point to a continued constrain on supply in the capital.

“This likely reflects increased competition between buyers in the property market and huge demand from first-time buyers, with this cohort looking further afield and becoming more willing to move county to buy their first home.

“In addition, more than one in five of the workforce in Ireland is now working from home on a regular basis, according to latest Eurostat figures, giving buyers more flexibility on where to choose a home,” he said.

Mr Hayes added that commuter belt counties are seeing a larger share of new purchase transactions.

“Given the impact of Help to Buy and the First Home Scheme in incentivising FTBs to buy or build new properties, it’s also notable that Kildare, Meath, Laois and Wicklow accounted for about 35% of Help to Buy claims in 2023.

“This reflects the importance of these counties in the supply of new housing for purchase with some 31% of new scheme house completions in 2023, according to the Central Statistics Office (CSO),” he said.

By contrast home county borrowers in Dublin accounted for more than nine in ten mortgages drawn down there – meaning people not from the capital are by and large not buying property there.

The median value of new build homes bought in 2023 was €395,000 with a median mortgage value of €319,000.

The median monthly mortgage repayment for those buying a new build increased to €1,516 over the last six months of 2023 – up almost €400 a month on the first half of 2021.

Dublin accounted for almost a third of all mortgage borrowing in 2023, with Cork the next highest county at 11.7%. No other county topped 10%, with Kildare in third place at 8.3% of new loans.