Updated / Thursday, 25 Sep 2025 11:51
New figures from the Central Statistics Office show that the national median income of home buyers was €84,400 last year, up from €80,100 in 2023 and €75,600 in 2022.
The average wage was €52,802 in 2024.
Today’s CSO figures show that the median age of buyers stayed at 40 years – unchanged from 2022 – while just over 60% of residential properties were purchased jointly in 2024.
The figures show that Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown had the highest joint purchaser income in 2024 at €157,100, while the lowest was in Monaghan at €77,900.
They also show that Longford had the lowest median purchase price last year at €182,200, and Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown had the highest median price at €660,000.
Meanwhile, Sligo was the county with the biggest annual percentage increase in median purchase price in 2024, rising by 26%, followed by Limerick and Westmeath, which rose by 17% and 16% respectively.
The CSO said that almost a third of people who bought a home last year were aged 35 or under, while around 11% of purchasers were aged 60 and over.
The median income for purchasers aged under 35 in 2024 was €86,400, it noted.
Commenting on today’s CSO figures, Trevor Grant, chairperson of Irish Mortgage Advisors, said the median age of house buyers has increased significantly in recent years – up from 35 in 2010 to 40 today.
“For many people today, it is taking much longer to buy a home than they had ever envisaged. Indeed, given the severe shortage of housing and the high house price inflation of the last few years, home ownership has become a pipedream for a lot of them,” Mr Grant said.
“While the decision to buy or rent can be a lifestyle one as much as financial decision, it is clear that rising house prices and the chronic shortage of housing in Ireland has led to an increase in the numbers of people renting. The recent Census shows that between the years 2016 and 2022 alone, the total number of occupied rental properties increased by almost 10%,” he noted.
“This has knock-on financial and societal consequences. The trend of people buying homes later in life means that more people are starting families while still renting. Indeed, more people are renting well into their 30s and even 40s and beyond,” he added.
