First-time buyers in Dublin now locked out of Help-to-Buy scheme, warns Savills
Homes in Dublin are now beyond the reach of
first-time buyers
using the Government's
Help-to-Buy scheme
, estate agents
Savills
have warned.
The property group says the average price of a new home in the capital is now €562,000 overall, citing Central Statistics Office figures. Among first-time buyers, it is €515,000.
That is beyond the upper price limit of €500,000 that qualifies buyers for Help-to-Buy. The Government scheme allows people claim back
income tax
and Dirt paid over the previous four tax years up to a maximum of €30,000 or 10 per cent of the property's price.
'This means more and more new homes are simply out of reach under the current help-to-buy limit,' Mark Reynolds, managing director of Savills Ireland.
READ MORE
It says the help-to-buy scheme threshold should be aligned with inflation by increasing it from its current €500,000 cap to at least €621,000, reflecting the 24.2 per cent rise in inflation since 2017 and ensuring the scheme 'remains effective'.
In its
pre-budget submission
, Savills also says the Government should reduce commercial stamp duty from 7.5 per cent to 2 per cent. The group warns that persistently high transaction costs are dampening investment in the commercial property sector.
A reduction in stamp duty would 'stimulate investment in office, retail, and logistics assets and support FDI', it says.
Mr Reynolds said bringing commercial stamp duty back to 2 per cent, as it was between 2011 and 2017, 'would send a strong signal that Ireland remains a competitive, investor-friendly location'.
'At a time when international capital is more selective, cost matters – and so does confidence,' he said. 'This is about restoring Ireland's competitiveness for investment and ensuring we have the modern offices, retail, and logistics spaces needed to support economic growth and jobs.'
Savills also outlines additional priority measures that it says are required to remove structural barriers to housing delivery.
These include expanding Uisce Éireann's statutory remit to 'enable the proactive delivery' of water and wastewater infrastructure 'rather than focusing solely on regulatory compliance'.
'This should be supported by increased capital funding to ensure timely and co-ordinated infrastructure delivery essential to meeting Ireland's housing needs,' it says.
Among other recommendations is a call to fast-track the Shannon to Dublin water pipeline to secure long-term water supply for the Greater Dublin Area.
Savills further calls on the Government to update construction labour forecasts in line with the 50,000-unit housing target and invest in construction skills pathways, including guarantees that apprenticeships are completed within four years.
It notes there are approximately 62,000 fewer construction workers in the Irish workforce today than there were at the peak in 2007 – a reduction of around 26 per cent.
'We believe this is a fundamental issue that warrants immediate attention,' it says, echoing comments in the quarterly economic commentary published by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) earlier this week.
'Without action to expand and retain construction talent, we risk setting targets that are unachievable in practice.'
Finally, the group is pushing for investment in enhanced housing market data services, including funding for real-time data systems to support better decision-making by policymakers and industry.
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