Surge in non-nationals buying first home here
ALMOST one in 20 first-time buyer houses are being snapped up by Africans, according to figures to be published later this month.
The figures, from the Irish Mortgage Corporation, show that while many Irish-born first-time buyers have been sitting on the property fence this year, the number of properties being bought by non-nationals has surged.
Overall, non-nationals are snapping up one in four first-time buyer houses, compared to about one in 10 three years ago.
Asian first-time buyers have the biggest taste for Irish property. About one in 14 first-time buyer houses are snapped up by Asians, with most of these coming from India, the Philippines, Pakistan and China.
The number of EU nationals buying property here for the first time has jumped by about 50 per cent over the last two years. In 2006 and 2007, about 20 per cent of non-national first-time buyers hailed from the EU -- this has since surged to 29 per cent. Overall, EU nationals snapped up one in 14 first-time buyer houses so far this year.
"While buyers come from 22 of the 27 EU member states, a stronger concentration comes from the recent accession states, particularly Poland, Lithuania and Romania," said Frank Conway, director of the Irish Mortgage Corporation.
Three years ago, one in four of the Irish properties bought by non-national first-time buyers were from Britain, compared to only one in six today.
- Louise McBride
