First-time buyer needs €76,500 salary
A single first-time buyer in Westmeath would need to earn €76,500 a year to secure a mortgage on a typical first home in the county, according to new analysis. The figure is higher than in Offaly and Longford, and lower than Laois.
The analysis by Chill Insurance found that the median price of a first-time-buyer home in Westmeath is now €340,000. Under the Central Bank’s standard mortgage rules, which allow a first-time buyer to borrow up to 90% of the property value and four times their gross income, a single buyer would therefore need an annual income of €76,500 to borrow the €306,000 required.
Westmeath is considerably more expensive than neighbouring Offaly on that measure.
The median first-time-buyer property price in Offaly is €292,000, meaning a single buyer would need to earn €65,700 to secure the required mortgage.
The difference is even more pronounced in Longford, which has the lowest income requirement of any county in the country.
A typical first-time-buyer home in Longford has a median price of €215,000, with a single buyer needing an income of €48,375 to borrow the required amount.
Laois, meanwhile, is the most expensive of the four Midland counties.
The median first-time-buyer property price there is €366,002, requiring a single buyer to earn €82,350 a year – €5,850 more than the Westmeath figure.
The figures highlight the significant differences in house prices even between neighbouring counties.
A first-time buyer in Westmeath needs to earn €10,800 more annually than one in Offaly, while the gap compared with Longford is €28,125.
Nationally, the picture is challenging for people attempting to buy on a single income.
Chill found that a person earning the national median salary of €44,816 would not earn enough to meet the income requirement for a typical first-time-buyer property in any county in Ireland.
Even in Longford, the most affordable county, a single buyer would need to earn €48,375 – more than €3,500 above the national median salary.
At the other end of the scale, Dublin has the highest income requirement, at €108,000, while Wicklow and Kildare have now also crossed the €100,000 threshold.
Economist Austin Hughes, quoted in the Chill analysis, said the affordability problem was no longer confined to Dublin and major urban centres but was being experienced “right across the country”.
The analysis is based on CSO data on median first-time-buyer property prices for the 12 months to June 2026 and county earnings data. The income figures represent the gross salary a single buyer would need to borrow 90% of the median property price under the Central Bank’s standard four-times-income limit.
The calculations do not take account of an individual’s existing savings, debts or other outgoings, and buyers who have a larger deposit or purchase with another person may face a different borrowing requirement.
Chill said that many buyers are attempting to bridge the affordability gap through larger deposits, purchasing with another person or using State-backed supports.