New figures today show that first-time-buyer property values increased by 33%, or €100,000, between 2021 and 2025 to about €399,000.
The Banking & Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI) figures also show that the median first-time-buyer property value rose by about half in four regions including the Border (up by 52% or €118,000), Midlands (51%), Limerick (49%) and West (48%), over the same time.
But it added that the national median basic household income of FTB borrowers, which includes the incomes of all borrowers on the mortgage, only rose by 20% or about €15,000 to €89,000 between 2021 and 2025.
According to BPFI’s latest Mortgage Market Profile Report for the second half of 2025, Wicklow was the fastest growing region for FTB mortgages, with volumes jumping by 54% between 2021 and 2025. Volumes in Dublin were up 26% and by 30% in Cork over the same time.
It also said that while the average FTB mortgage on a new property in 2025 reached €337,000, the average value of an FTB mortgage on a second-hand property exceeded €300,000 for the first time at €307,729.
Meanwhile mover purchase activity declined in every region, with Limerick, Meath and the West all seeing mover volumes decline by more than 20% in the years from 2021 and 2025.
Today’s report also noted that the median property value of existing properties bought by FTBs in Kildare exceeded €400,000 for the first time (at €407,000) in the second half of 2025 while their median basic household income surpassed €90,000 for the first time, reaching €91,000.
It also reveals that only 20% of Dublin mortgages were drawn down by FTBs buying or building new properties, the lowest share of any region, while 24% went to movers buying existing properties, the highest of any region.
And at €260,000, the median mover mortgage values in the Border region was the lowest of any region, while the median basic household income was joint lowest at €104,000.
Ali Ugur, BPFI’s chief economist, said that today’s report shows that 2025 was a strong year for FTB mortgage activity right across the country, while mover activity weakened in every region.
The economist noted that the strongest growth has been in FTB mortgages for new-build homes.
“In seven of the 12 Mortgage Market Profile regions, FTB volumes for new homes grew by more than 50% between 2021 and 2025. Wicklow saw the fastest growth, with FTB volumes for new homes more than doubling (up 122%), while volumes jumped by more than 80% in Cork, Limerick and the Midlands,” he said.
“By contrast, FTB volumes on second-hand properties fell in four regions between 2021 and 2025: Cork, the Midlands, the West and the Border. Only four regions (the four eastern counties of Dublin, Meath, Kildare and Wicklow) recorded growth of more than 1% over the same period,” he added.
