Interest rate hike to hit first-time buyers

FIRST-TIME BUYERS will have their spending power slashed by 10% if interest rates go up 1%, according to an analysis by Goodbody Stockbrokers.

Goodbody’s latest report on the Irish banking sector shows higher interest rates mean those entering the housing market will be unable to borrow as much as they could have when rates were at historic lows.

The analysis shows a typical mortgage on a house worth €355,000, the average price of a house in Dublin, would cost in the region of €1,515 to service each month, based on a typical lending rate of 3%.