Demand Spikes for Properties Qualifying for Government Mortgages in Ireland

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According to Ireland property website Daft.ie, searches for properties that qualify for the new government-backed mortgages surged by over 9% last week following the Government announcement of the scheme.

Daft, which has 2.5 million unique users each month, analyzed the impact of the announcement on the properties that fall inside the higher tier (up to €320,000 - in Dublin, Cork, Galway, Kildare, Louth, Meath and Wicklow), while also evaluating those in the remaining 19 counties at the lower (€250,000) threshold.

The website recorded a 9%  week-on-week increase in overall searches for the qualifying properties in the wake of the announcement.

Searches for those in the higher tier increased by 11% week-on-week, while searches for those in the lower threshold were up 7%.

The research also uncovered that 13% (2,027) of all properties available in Ireland that qualify are located in Cork city & county.

Donegal has 9% of the total stock, while Galway city & county (8%) and Dublin city & county (7%) were next best.

Commenting on the data; Martin Clancy from Daft.ie said, "We are now seeing on average over 1,000 property searches taking place every minute on Daft.ie. Overall, our research has revealed that the announcement has had a very definite impact on the property searches users are now making. Our data also revealed that Monaghan has the fewest number of properties available that qualify for the new scheme while Wicklow has the lowest number available in the top price bracket (up to €320,000)."

Number of properties available for sale that qualify for the new first-time buyers Government-backed mortgages - by county (Top 5):

• Cork - 2,027
• Donegal - 1,311
• Galway - 1,218
• Dublin - 1,119
• Mayo - 1,208