Home-buyers paying out almost eight times the average wage for a home 

Average mortgage approval in October was €280,600, up 4.3% on last year. Picture: Denis Minihane

Home buyers are being stretched to pay prices not seen since 2009, with the average transaction now costing almost eight times the average income.

The price inflation will not be helped by worrying trends in the construction sector which, it is feared, could lead to new developments “drying up”.