Solo home buyers may feel that current property prices leave little hope of purchasing a home however understanding home buying supports can boost your options and help you secure a home.
One third of our home buyers at doddl were sole purchasers, 56% were female and 44% were male and the average age of our sole applicants was 34 years.
What are sole buyers purchasing?
- One in five (22%) of new build home completions were for sole applicant first-time buyers.
- In the 12 months to June 2025, sole first-time buyers accounted for 64.2pc of mortgages drawn down on apartments.
- Sole borrowers represented more than one third (36.4%) of first-time buyer mortgages on second-hand properties.
- The median first-time buyer mortgage value for a sole borrower was €248,000 in June 2025.
- The median income of a sole borrower was almost €68,000 as of June 2025.
- New build homes in urban locations continue to stretch affordability, meaning that for many sole buyers, a new build house may seem out of reach.
At doddl, we spend time informing our clients about all their home buying options and explaining what their maximum purchase price is on second hand homes or new builds using the help to buy or combining the help to buy with the first home scheme. The use of these schemes can help bridge the gap on deposit and affordability.
Schemes supporting sole first-time buyers at doddl
The Help to Buy Scheme and the First Home Scheme have been instrumental in maximising home-buying power for many of our sole first-time buyers.
Help to Buy Scheme – A rebate of income tax paid over the previous four years in Ireland. It provides up to 10pc of the purchase price of a new build home, capped at €30,000. This can be used towards the deposit and applies to new build homes only.
First Home Scheme – Designed to bridge the gap between mortgage eligibility and the purchase price of a new build home. The scheme provides an equity stake of up to 30pc of the purchase price, or 20pc where Help to Buy is also used. An equity stake is taken in the property by the First Home Scheme DAC.
Example – How the schemes can work together to boost affordability
Sole applicant first-time buyer:
• Income: €68,000
• Savings: €15,000
Mortgage eligibility: €272,000 (based on standard lending rules at 4 times income).
Funding structure:
• Mortgage: €272,000
• Help to Buy: €30,000
• Savings: €15,000
• First Home Scheme: €68,000 (17.6 pc equity stake)
Total purchase price of a new build: €385,000
To qualify for Help to Buy, a minimum loan-to-value ratio of 70pc is required; therefore, the minimum purchase price in this example is €385,000.
What about second hand homes?
In this example the limiting factor is really deposit level. For all purchasers minimum deposit requirement is 10%.
The Help to Buy scheme can be used towards your10% deposit requirement when purchasing a new build home. For second hand home purchase sole first time buyers can struggle with saving the 10% deposit that is required to purchase a second hand home, particularly when paying rent in urban areas.
Understanding the schemes in place and your options can really help you plan and understand what is achievable. This is what our team at doddl are experts in, we can set out how much you can borrow and what your options are under the various schemes and property types. If you don’t know where to start then a 20 minute call with our team could really help!
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