Menu
Expat.com

Buying property in Dublin

Buying property in Dublin
shutterstock.com
Updated byAnne-Lise Mtyon 10 July 2019

Around the turn of the 21st century, the property prices in Dublin began to skyrocket. There was a property boom which all came to a sudden halt when the Great Recession hit at the end of 2007. While prices fell significantly for a number of years, they are now close to all-time high levels.

The real estate market in Dublin

There is currently a lack of supply of housing in Dublin. This has, as a result, caused prices to skyrocket. Many people can no longer afford to live in the city and have to look into the suburbs and commuter towns outside of the city.

To be able to buy a typical house in an area of Dublin such as Ranelagh or Blackrock, you will need to be a professional that earns at least â¬150,000 annually. Houses are significantly cheaper when you look outside of Dublin.

There are a lot of new housing developments and apartment complexes in the pipeline. Once they are completed, the hope is that the increase in supply levels will subsequently lead to prices dropping.

Buying a house in Dublin

The way of buying a property in Dublin depends on your level of income. You will need to have your deposit saved up in cash when approaching a bank to obtain a mortgage. Usually, this deposit will be 10% of the total value of the property you are looking to buy.

You will then subtract the deposit amount from the actual price of your desired house. You then divide this figure by 3.5 as this is the multiple of your income that you can borrow, as per the Central Bank of Ireland's rules.

In the past, there was reckless lending by the banks, which caused massive instability in the Irish property market and the economy as a whole. Therefore, mortgage providers are strict about how much money can be lent to people.

If you are looking to buy a property with your other half, you can pool your incomes together when it comes to calculating how much you will be able to borrow for a mortgage.

There are rare exceptions to the 3.5 times your income rule, so it may be worth double-checking when applying for a mortgage to see if you could avail of any such discount.

Property prices in Dublin

Premium areas of Dublin to buy property in

For the priciest housing prices in Dublin, you will be looking at areas such as Clonskeagh, Donnybrook, Rathgar, Ranelagh, Glenageary and Blackrock. Median prices for these areas are generally around the â¬645,000 mark.

More affordable areas in Dublin

In terms of the most affordable area in Dublin, the honour goes to Balbriggan. This area is in the north of Dublin and the median price of a property there is around the â¬210,000 mark.

Other areas in this ballpark include the likes of Ballymun and Finglas. Generally, you will find that property which is located close to major public transport stops and stations for the likes of the DART and the Luas will have a price premium on them.

Useful links:

My Home ' Property for Sale
Daft ' Houses for sale
Property ' Property for sale in Dublin

We do our best to provide accurate and up to date information. However, if you have noticed any inaccuracies in this article, please let us know in the comments section below.

About

Anne-Lise studied Psychology for 4 years in the UK before finding her way back to Mauritius and being a journalist for 3 years and heading Expat.com's editorial department for 5. She loves politics, books, tea, running, swimming, hiking...

Back to Dublin expat guide

Comments

See also

All of Dublin's guide articles