First-time buyers still struggling

HOUSE prices are growing at the slowest rate in almost a decade, but first-time buyers are still struggling to get a foot on the property ladder.

A fifth of first-time house buyers are getting gifts of up to €15,000 from their parents to help build a deposit big enough to afford a home.

That’s according to a new report by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) and Permanent TSB.