The average three bed house is moving out of reach for first time buyers even those with a combined income of €107,000
The Society of Chartered Surveyors of Ireland examined affordability of new homes in Cork, Galway, Meath, Kildare and Wicklow and found a garda and nurse with that income could only afford to buy in one of those counties
If the couple had saved the 10% deposit and availed of the Help to Buy Scheme they could afford to buy a house in Meath and faced a €13,000 shortfall for a property in Cork
Speaking to RedFM News Joey Sheahan of MyMortages.ie says the threshold applied to first home schemes needs to be reviewed and more housing supply is needed
"The cost of building has driven prices up and the lack of supply, I suppose a lot of the new properties that have been built have been sold off in blocks to affordable housing and social housing, so they're not available for the average guard and nurse that the report indicates there. So more property available for the private buyer is needed to keep the price down for these cohort of buyers"
