Couples on 107K can’t afford a home

For anyone hoping for a quick fix by policy, it's not going to happen. We are decades away from catching up with demand as it is at the moment. The only thing that will make houses affordable is a big recession in Ireland like the last time and a huge number of people leave the country.

As a twenty something buyer in Ireland in the 00s, I was priced out of the market near where I live and work. I was house sharing with a few friends which was grand at the time. Recession came and the house I wanted to buy dropped from 400k to 220k, fortunately I had a good broker friend and a solid job and I was able to get a mortgage. The estate agent nearly took my hand off, in hindsight I should have offered less and I still think I would have got it, it was a new build.

If that recession didn't happen I wouldn't have been able to buy on my own, I wasn't in a solid enough relationship until years afterwards. And when I did get into one, she already owned a house too so I don't know if I would have ever bought. On the flip side, we are currently very tentatively looking at trading up to a bigger house with a a big garden but the cost gap is bigger than it ever was. Not a bad situation to be in but we could potentially release a property, maybe 2, in the affordable range for people to buy on salaries of 107k combined but nothing there for us unless we go to absolutely mad money.

In a growing economy, with high wage and materials cost, foreign investment being continually targeted and achieved, plus immigration in all its forms, I just cannot see how supply is going to be increased to fix the problem.

The political parties constantly give press releases about increased output plans, but miss targets consistently and are falling further and further behind.

Apologies for doom mongering but economics is called the dismal science for a reason. A recession worked in my particular circumstances last time, and it's going to need to happen again for many.

Competing with governments, universities, global corporations, investment funds and other buyers is a recipe for only one thing - prices to continue increasing.

Same, I got on the property ladder 2013, would never have gotten on it without the recession.

At the time the recession was all doom and gloom but getting on the ladder was a very lucky break for me.

MY sister and her boyfriend just bought a 1 bed apartment in Swords for €220k (It was on the market for €200k but they ended up paying 220k). The place is in a nice area and its 55sqm. One of the biggest 1 bed apartments ive seen in Ireland.

For the last 2 years they were aiming for the 3 bed semi but decided it was moving away from them. They had 25 or 30k i think they had saved, and went for the 1 bed apartment. They were paying €1850 in rent €800pm for their mortgage.

Now they have an extra €1000 per month to save. They can decorate however they like, and buy their own stuff. And they will have equity in their own pockets as they pay down the mortgage. I they ever need to in the future, they can trade up. If they dont need to they can stay as they are. Their rent wont be going up and the place is not going to be sold from under them.

Main thing is they are €1000pm better off in outgoings straight away. They have property tax to pay and €1050pa to the apartment MC and insurance, but thats only a fraction of what they are saving.

Yes, and this is an issue with the market in Ireland and probably other countries as well.

For anyone hoping for a quick fix by policy, it's not going to happen. We are decades away from catching up with demand as it is at the moment. The only thing that will make houses affordable is a big recession in Ireland like the last time and a huge number of people leave the country.

Housing is affordable, for those who can afford it which is quite a sizeable cohort. If that wasn't true, the market would be in decline.

The Supply and Demand model was mentioned several times in relation to housing.

The Demand cohorts are 2. People who can afford a home and people who can't. i.e. those who qualify for strict mortgage guidelines and those who don't.

The supply side will cater for those who can afford it, not those who can't. Why would they?

House prices historically will only go one direction in this country apart from a couple of blips. A recession may well bring housing prices down but it will only go up again, so that is hardly sustainable.

If you take SFs policy of homes at 300k, how many realistically from the 'can't afford it cohort' could afford that?

The only credible way to get those into homes now and in the future is to link their payments relative to their earnings.

The State is already the largest landlord in the Country, it will get a hell of a lot of bigger if we were to start subsidising not just developers but mortgages at that scale. Not to mention the cost.

How many people would buy a house under these conditions knowing if they ever decided to sell up the Government would take a significant chunk of the sale price.

That's before we even get to the acute lack of trades people to build these actual homes that people roaring for.

You are right though, there is no one quick fix policy.

Whether there is a rent increase or not, renting for life isnt a good idea in Ireland because there is no chance anybody would be able to afford their rent by virtue of pension alone.

Someone in that position would almost certianly end up in social housing upon retirement. Its a ticking time bomb.

Im the same. Always thought renting was better for me. Im thinking of following my sister now and going for a 1 bed apartment because everything else is out of range at this point and even 1 beds are starting to drift further from me. Got my deposit saved already and know how much the bank will give me. Its not enough for anything big, but it will get me a 1 bed apartment in a nice area or a small 2 bed in a dump. I like the one my sister bought so i'll look for something similar in that area i think. Time to get out of renting while i still can. Might be my last chance.

Im coming round to that way of thinking now after years of being happy renting and having fairly low rent. Now that my current landlord is selling I think its time to buy.

I agree with your points. But the biggest impactor is retirement, as the income stream will not be there to pay the rent post retirement.

By fine I mean it is affordable, up until you retire.

Not saying anyone will be on the pigs back just because they choose to buy over long-term renting. Renting is fine if it's only for a few years but long-term doesn't make sense imo. Why not use your money towards owning your own home rather than putting your money into someone else's pocket?

Just saw that the repayments for single FTB, 200k over 30 years with €50k pa (3240pm net) are less than 1000pm. Rents are generally more expensive. With a deposit, that mortgage would cover a 225k second-hand property and there are 84 results of 1&2 beds under 225k in dublin on myhome. They may not appeal for one reason or another but everyone I know started off in a property that wasn't 100% what they wanted, either location, or size, or outside space was a compromise, but they all traded up after 5+ years to something more suitable. Its never been easy to buy a property and there is help available now for FTB and new builds. TBF, getting the deposit together can be difficult especially if paying rent.