First-Time Buyer Mortgages Highest in 18 Years, Existing Homeowner Loans Decline

First-time buyers in Ireland drew down more mortgages in the past year than at any time in the last 18 years since the financial crash, according to the Banking and Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI). The value of these mortgages was the highest since 2003. Conversely, the number of existing homeowners drawing down loans fell for the third consecutive year, reaching 8,782, the lowest since 2014 and a 2.7 percent decrease from the previous year.

The average first-time buyer mortgage last year was €319,710, implying an average income of just under €80,000 based on Central Bank rules. The average loan for existing homeowners was €379,707. Both figures are the highest since BPFI began collecting this data. A total of 27,652 first-time buyers acquired homes, with 40 percent buying newly-built properties.

BPFI chief economist Ali Ugur noted strong growth in mortgage drawdowns for new homes, with first-time mortgages jumping over 50 percent in seven of 12 regions in the last five years. Dublin saw a 26 percent increase between 2021 and 2025, Cork 30 percent, and Wicklow 54 percent. Limerick, the midlands, and the southeast also rose by over a fifth. Only the west experienced a 4 percent fall in first-time home loan activity since 2021.

The west also saw the most significant decline in existing homeowners taking out mortgages to move, down 31 percent in five years. Loan volumes for this group fell across all regions, with double-digit slides everywhere except Dublin and Cork. The median price for a first-time buyer home reached €399,000 by 2025, a €100,000 increase over five years. Individual mortgage values rose 34 percent, or €80,000, to €316,000 in the same period.