New Information About Buying A House In Dublin In 2018 Makes For Sick Reading

A new report by Nevin Economic Research Institute has found that most individual wage earners in Ireland would not meet the necessary criteria to apply for a mortgage for a one-bed apartment anywhere in Dublin.

The same report found that full-time minimum wage earners would have “little chance” of getting a mortgage for the same type of property in Cork, Galway, or Limerick cities.

The report examines rent and housing prices in Ireland in relation to wages of selected workers in the country.

The research paper states that:

"The analysis found that a full-time minimum wage worker spends 35-48% of their take home pay on a double-room in shared accommodation anywhere in Dublin.

"The cost of renting a one-bed apartment in Dublin 2 (€1,668) is over 70% of the monthly median net take home pay of an Irish worker (€2,087) with prices in Dublin 1, 7 and 8 and South Co Dublin broadly similar.

"In practical terms, 50% of Irish employees would have €170 or less left a week after rent to pay for food, transport, utilities, clothing, health and a pension should they rent a one-bed apartment in any of these areas."

The news didn't get any better for those who wanted to rent something bigger than a one-bed apartment in the capital.

"Renting a two-bedroom apartment in most areas in Dublin is not affordable for two workers earning the median wage, with prices particularly prohibitive for younger workers.

"Indeed, it is clear that this really is a Dublin problem, though the other cities are by no means cheap.

"Taking a three-bed as the minimally adequate size, there is nowhere in the Dublin area where two full-time minimum-wage workers could hope to raise a family without significant state intervention."

Not the news you want to hear if you're looking to buy a house in 2018.