First-time buyers eye up areas outside their counties amid high prices, report finds

The BPFI Mortgage Market Profile Report for the second half of 2023 also showed Dublin remains the largest mortgage market with 31.3% of home purchase mortgages. Outside Dublin, Cork is the largest single market with 11.7% followed by Kildare at 8.3%.

Dublin’s hot mortgage market priced out nearly a quarter of first-time buyers last year, banking figures suggested.

The Banking and Payments Federation of Ireland, or BPFI showed supply shortages have fuelled competition among homebuyers, who are now increasingly entering into mortgage agreements outside of their home county, especially if they are from the capital.

Dublin borrowers, for example, accounted for more than 40% of first-time buyer mortgages in Kildare, Wicklow and Meath in 2023, a mortgage report by the BPFI showed.

“The uptick in house prices seen in recent years and the shortage of new homes, have culminated in a growing cohort of mortgage holders moving out of the cities and into commuter belt counties and in many cases more rural areas too,” said Trevor Grant, chairperson of Irish Mortgage Advisors.

Mr Grant added the popularity of flexible working post-covid has also partly driven homebuyers to move into more rural areas.

The BPFI Mortgage Market Profile Report for the second half of 2023 also showed Dublin remains the largest mortgage market with 31.3% of home purchase mortgages.

Outside Dublin, Cork is the largest single market with 11.7% followed by Kildare at 8.3%.