Tipp single house purchasers need €67,065 salary
Tipperary has the lowest salary requirement in Munster for first-time buyers, according to new research from Chill Insurance. A single buyer still needs to earn €67,065 to buy a typical first home. That is more than the county's median income of €41,338, leaving a gap of €25,727 between what people earn and what they need.
Tipperary is among the more affordable counties in the country for first-time buyers. Yet the local median income still falls short of what a single buyer would need to borrow for a typical first home.
The research compared the median first-time buyer home price in each county, using the Central Statistics Office's Residential Property Price Index, with median local incomes from CSO earnings data. These figures were then assessed against the standard Central Bank lending rules, under which a buyer can borrow up to 90% of a home's value and up to four times their gross income.
The picture in Tipperary:
Typical first-time buyer home: €298,065
Median income in Tipperary: €41,338
Salary needed to qualify for a mortgage: €67,065
The gap: €25,727
Economist Austin Hughes said:
"With Irish house prices continuing to increase faster than wages, first-time buyers are finding it increasingly difficult to find a property they can afford, not just in Dublin or major urban centres but right across the country.
The Chill report emphasises the nationwide nature of the problem would-be homebuyers face. Even allowing for ongoing wage growth, in no county is the typical first-time buyer property accessible at present to the median wage-earner, unless they are in a position to get additional financial support from the State and/or their family."
Ian O'Reilly, Director of Sales and Operations at Chill Insurance, said:
"Tipperary has the lowest income requirement in Munster for first-time buyers, and is one of the more affordable counties in the country. Even so, a single buyer earning the local median income would still not earn enough to borrow what they need for a typical first home. For many first-time buyers, closing that gap means saving a larger deposit, buying with another person or looking at State supports such as the First Home Scheme or the Local Authority Home Loan."
Key national findings:
No county is affordable for a single buyer on the national median salary of €44,816
Three counties now need a six-figure salary: Dublin, Kildare and Wicklow
The five least affordable counties are all in Leinster
Five counties need salaries above €90,000
Connacht and Ulster make up most of the affordable list
For the full county-by-county figures, methodology and information on the options available to first-time buyers, see the full report: