Estate agent Savills calls for Help-to-Buy threshold in Dublin to increase to €614,000 

Company is also calling for an easing of rent pressure zones, measures which 'although aimed at protecting tenants, have inadvertently discouraged international investors, leading to a decline in the development of new rental units'

Managing director of Savills Ireland Mark Reynolds with director of new homes Sarah Murray: the company has called for an extension of the Help-to-Buy scheme until December 2028.

Estate agent Savills Ireland has called for an extension of the Help-to-Buy scheme until December 2028 and for the threshold to be increased to €614,000 in Dublin in order to support new homeowners and “stimulate the housing market”.

During the last budget, the scheme was extended until the end of 2025. To qualify for the scheme, applicants must be a first-time buyer and the property must have been built since January 1, 2017.

The value of the property must also be €500,000 or less. To date, of the 48,454 claims made, 47,356 have been approved.

In its pre-budget submission, Savills said raising the threshold value in Dublin was to account for rising construction costs and consumer inflation.

Earlier this week, property website Daft.ie said the average price of a home in Dublin City stood at €453,671 — up 4.7% compared to last year. Countrywide, the average house price stands at just over €330,000 an increase of 6.7%.

Despite the need for additional labour capacity to build more homes — and reach the Government’s target of delivering 250,000 homes over the next five years — Savills cautioned against a reallocation of workers from the commercial construction sector to the residential sector.

It said this is due to the “importance of commercial development” in attracting foreign direct investment.

Savills is also calling for an easing of rent pressure zones with the company claiming that, along with rising interest rates and construction costs, they are causing the market to experience a “dramatic downturn”.

Managing director of Savills Ireland Mark Reynolds said easing rental caps was 'essential for attracting the international capital needed to sustain and grow our private rented sector'.

“These measures, although aimed at protecting tenants, have inadvertently discouraged international investors, leading to a decline in the development of new rental units — with Dublin PRS completions set to decline by 68% to 1,600 units in 2025,” the submission said.

Managing director of Savills Ireland Mark Reynolds said easing rental caps was ”essential for attracting the international capital needed to sustain and grow our private rented sector”.

Despite the demand for office space slowing dramatically and high vacancy rates — with Dublin reaching 14.5% in March — Savills is still calling for commercial stamp duty to be cut significantly, from 7.5% to 2%.

The property firm claimed fewer commercial developments “will lead to slower economic growth” as businesses will have fewer options to expand their Irish operations.

The Department of Finance is forecasting modified domestic demand — a measure of domestic economic activity — to grow by 1.9% this year and by 2.3% next year. This is compared to 0.5% in 2023.

Among Savills’ other recommendations are financial incentives and tax breaks for developers for building student accommodation, as well as extending the temporary Development Contribution Waiver Scheme for home builders. 

According to the Higher Education Authority, there are about 84,000 full-time students in Dublin but there are fewer than 20,000 student beds.

Savills said this shortfall forces students into the private rented sector, adding pressure to the market.