Fall in number of first-time buyers in last three months of 2015

There was a fall in the number of first-time buyers drawing down a mortgage in the final three months of last year.

New figures show that 3,813 new buyers took out a mortgage between October and December last.

This was 220 fewer mortgages than in the same quarter of 2014.

It was the first time since 2013 that there has been a fall-off in the number of first-time buyers in a quarter compared with a year earlier, according to the Banking and Payments Federation.

Central Bank lending restrictions, which have hit new buyers hard, have been blamed for the drop.

Some 8,103 mortgages were drawn down in the October to December period, valued at EUR1.451bn.

This is an increase of 6.9pc on the previous year. However, the figure represents a considerable slowdown on the number of people drawing down a mortgage compared with the first half of last year.

The Central Bank introduced lending restrictions last February, requiring a 20pc deposit for amounts borrowed over EUR220,000.

Goodbody economist Juliet Tennent told The Irish Independent: "The rules are clearly having the biggest impact on the first-time buyers category."

Overall, last year there were 24,134 mortgages issued for house purchases. This compares with the 47,500 transactions recorded on the Property Price Register last year, with the data for 2015 not yet complete.

Davy economist Conall MacCoille said this meant half of purchases were made by cash buyers: "Cash buyers still account for close to 50pc of transactions - a little surprising given the end of capital gains tax exemptions in December 2014."

He added that the returns from renting out a property were between 5pc and 6pc.

"Residential property still represents an attractive asset for many investors, with bank deposit rates now close to zero."

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