MANY FIRST-HOME BUYERS in Dublin will be forced to save significant sums to afford properties in the capital under new mortgage rules.
The Central Bank last night announced lending restrictions that would force property buyers to come up with a minimum 20% deposit for home purchasers.
But in response to concerns that the restriction would lock first-home buyers out of the market, it relaxed the rules for new purchasers – who would instead need to produce 10% deposits for properties worth under €220,000.
There will also be a cap on borrowers taking out loans of more than 3.5 times their annual incomes.
The decisions will be felt most strongly in the competitive Dublin market, where the average asking price for a property in the city’s north is over €282,000 – a figure which continues to rise sharply.
At that price level, purchasers taking a step onto the property ladder would need to come up with a minimum deposit of more than €34,000 and have a yearly income of nearly€71,000.
Prices have already gone up about 20% in the capital over the past year and are expected to continue their growth in 2015.
Honohan told RTÉ’s Morning Ireland that the €220,000 limit had been set because about half the properties first-home buyers had been purchasing in Dublin were below that price.
But the rules are unlikely to trouble buyers in the country’s cheapest counties, Laois and Leitrim, where the average asking prices are only €88,700 and €92,814 respectively.
Here’s what €220,000 will put you in the market for around the country:
Dublin City (north)
Average asking price: €282,899
What you can buy for €220,000: This three-bedroom apartment in Santry, Dublin 9.
The penthouse apartment spans 83 sq/m and includes a balcony and two bathrooms, while the development is close to Dublin airport and is about a 20-minute drive from the city centre.
Dublin City (south)
Average asking price: €307,337
What you can buy for €220,000: This two-bedroom apartment in Rathfarnam, Dublin 16.
The property is on the third floor of the building and comes with two double bedrooms and two bathrooms. The secure complex is not far from the M50 motorway.
Cork City
Average asking price: €182,007
What you can buy for €220,000: This three-bedroom, three bathroom duplex in Ballintemple.
According to the listing, the Temple Hill House property would “ideally suit a first-time purchaser” and includes private, off-street parking.
Co Clare
Average asking price: €130,964
What you can buy for €220,000: This four-bedroom bungalow in Doonbeg.
The house is on a 3/4-acre block a few minutes drive from the Atlantic coast and has garage space for two cars.
Co Donegal
Average asking price: €114,893
What you can buy for €220,000: This four-bedroom, four-bathroom detached house near the village of Milford.
The “ideal family home” sites on a half-acre block overlooking Mulroy Bay and the Donegal mountains.
Co Laois
Average asking price: €88,700
What you can buy for €220,000: This five-bedroom house outside Abbeyleix.
Called The Maples, the home comes with five bedrooms, two bathrooms and sits on property of about one acre 3km from Abbeyleix town centre and 19km from Portlaoise.
All average asking prices are taken from Daft.ie’s latest property report. TheJournal.ie and Daft.ie have some shareholders in common.
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