Longford ranked most affordable Irish county for first-time buyers

New research from Chill Insurance indicates that Longford is the most affordable county in Ireland for first-time homebuyers. The study, which utilized data from the Central Statistics Office, highlights a significant gap between local median incomes and the salaries required to qualify for mortgages under Central Bank lending rules.

In Longford, the median home price is approximately €215,000, requiring a salary of just over €48,000 to secure a mortgage. This represents an income shortfall of roughly €9,500 compared to the local average salary. Other highly affordable counties include Leitrim, Mayo, Donegal, and Roscommon.

Despite being among the more affordable regions, Roscommon requires a single buyer to earn €63,000 to purchase a typical first home, which is significantly higher than the county's median income of approximately €42,150. Nationally, the research found that no county is affordable for a single buyer earning the national median salary of €44,816. In contrast, Dublin, Kildare, and Wicklow have become the least affordable, with three counties requiring six-figure salaries for first-time buyers.