Longford is second most affordable place for first time buyers

New research by Switcher.ie has revealed the most affordable places for first time buyers in Ireland. The median house price for first-time buyers in the 12 months to December was €340,00.

Despite mortgage activity declining during 2023, first-time buyer mortgages remained buoyant accounting for around 63% of the market. The average first time buyer drawdown was €282,084 - the highest level since records began in 2003.

Switcher.ie’s Affordability Index reveals the most affordable areas for joint buyers and sole buyers purchasing an apartment based on how long it would take to save for a deposit in each RPPI region.

Longford (average property price €179,500) was the second most affordable place for joint first time buyers. If both buyers were earning the average amount (€72,356) in Longford, they could expect to spend just 2.6 years to save the minimum 10% deposit.

Leitrim (€184,000 and €75,408), Longford, Roscommon (€201,500 and €78,096), Sligo (€210,000 and €78,886) and Mayo (€210,500 and €75,496) are the top 5 most affordable places for joint buyers and take the least amount of time to save for a deposit.

The research showed that the most affordable places for first time buyers were not necessarily in the areas with the lowest house prices.