More than a third (36%) of first-time buyer homes were valued at over €400,000 in 2024, three times the number that came in at this amount five years earlier in 2019.
That’s according to Banking and Payments Federation Ireland’s latest Mortgage Market Profile Report for the second half of last year which found that there was a significant increase in first-time buyer property and mortgage values between 2019 and 2024, as well as an increase in mortgage repayments and incomes.
This latest report in the series looks at the profile of borrowers, their loans and property types on a national and regional basis.
For first time buyers, the median property value rose by over €100,000 between 2019 and 2024, up 37% to almost €372,000.
During the same time, the median mortgage value increased by €78,000, or 36%, to almost €294,000.
There was also an increase in the share of higher value mortgages, over €300,000, which doubled to 44%.
The share of lower value mortgages, up to €200,000 more than halved to 21%.
Meanwhile, median first-time buyer monthly mortgage repayments rose by 48% to €1,400 in 2024, up almost €500 on median repayments in 2019. This comes as the median basic household income (excluding additional incomes such as bonuses or rents) for first-time buyers increased by 22% from €70,000 in 2019 to €85,000 last year with the median mover income increasing by 23% to €120,000 up €22,000 over the same timeframe.
All regions saw a substantial increase in median mortgage values. The median FTB mortgage value increased by €90,000 or more in three regions: Wicklow (which surpassed Dublin as the county with the highest median first-time buyer mortgage at €348,000), Galway and the Midlands region.
More than half (56%) of first-time buyer mortgages in 2019 had repayments up to €1,000, but this dropped to 19% in 2024.
More than half (58%) of mover mortgages had repayments over €1,500 in 2024, up from 33% five years earlier.
Dublin had the highest median property and loan values as well as basic household incomes of all customer types in the second half of 2024.
Cork was the second largest county market in H2 2024 with 11.7% of FTB and 10% of mover mortgages.
With 3.3% of total home mortgage drawdowns in H2 2024, Limerick continued to be the smallest region and its share fell from 3.5% in H2 2023. The median property values of FTBs buying new property in the county decreased by €4,000 year on year to €386,000, while the median mover purchaser property value fell by €3,000 to €395,000, making Limerick the only region in which property values dropped.
Kildare saw the biggest increases in median mortgage and property values for both first-time buyers buying existing properties and movers between H2 2022 and H2 2024, with the median mortgage value for FTBs buying existing properties €57,000 higher at €307,000.
In the West, Midlands, Border and South and Mid-West regions, more than 70% of mortgages were valued at less than €200,000.
In the Midlands, the median property value of mover mortgages was the lowest of all regions at €361,000.
The share of mover properties in Galway valued at over €400,000 jumped from 22% to 60% between 2019 and 2024.
Commenting on the report Brian Hayes, Chief Executive, BPFI said: “The home mortgage market in Ireland has changed significantly in the past five years, as buyers shift to higher value properties.
“While the share of first-time buyer properties valued at over €400,000 in 2024 trebled since 2019 to 36%, almost two thirds (64%) of mover properties were valued at over €400,000 in 2024.
“At the same time, the median first-time buyer property value rose by over €100,000 between 2019 and 2024, up 37% to almost €372,000. This reflects broader housing price trends with the national median residential property price increasing from €259,000 in 2019 to €355,000 in 2024, according to the CSO.
“On a regional basis, more than half of FTB properties in Wicklow (64%) and Dublin (58%) were valued at more than €400,000. By contrast, more than 85% of FTB properties in Limerick and the Border, Midlands, South East, West and South and Mid-West regions were valued up to €300,000.”
Speaking on the impact of property price increases on the mortgage market, My Hayes added: “The increase in residential property prices in general and the increasing share of higher-value properties (over €300,000) has played a key role in driving up average mortgage values.
“Looking back over the past two decades, the average home mortgage value reached new peaks in 2024, a trend which has continued into the first quarter of 2025.
“For first-time bueyrs, the national median mortgage value increased by about €78,000, or 36%, between 2019 and 2024 to almost €294,000. As a result, mortgage repayments also increased with the median monthly FTB mortgage repayment (excluding self-builds) up by 56% to €1,400, an increase of almost €500 between 2019 and 2024. Four out of ten FTB mortgages had repayments over €1,500 and in three regions (Wicklow, Dublin and Kildare) more than half of FTBs paid more than €1,500.”
Mr Hayes concluded: “The increase in property prices and mortgage values have come as the median basic household income (excluding additional incomes such as bonuses or rents) for FTBs increased by 22% from €70,000 in 2019 to €85,000 last year.
“The median mover income increased by €22,000, or 23%, over the same period to €120,000. It’s worth noting that over the same five-year timeframe to Q4 2024, average weekly earnings in Ireland jumped by 24.8%, according to the CSO. Notably, almost one third of FTB mortgage households had incomes of €100,000 or more in 2024, up from 17% in 2019, while almost two thirds of mover mortgage households had incomes of €100,000 or more, up from 47% in 2019.”
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