Is it a Good Time to Buy a House in Ireland ?
There is no simple formula that will answer for everyone when you  should buy a house. You have to consider variables, such as your income and expenses, the mortgage you can get, rental costs, your attitude to risk and your ability to handle stress.
House prices have dropped – and may drop evenfurther – but if you need somewhere to live long term and you need it now then it’s a good time to buy.
There are some  good bargains out there.

See these 5 bedroomed bungalows  over 200 sq metres priced  under €200k –

The emotional drive to have your  own four walls can be  much stronger than playing the waiting game for the bottom of a crash. Paying out rent to a landlord is just paying the landlord’s mortgage and helping them make a profit.

Can you afford it?
It’s a simple question, but one which is sometimes overlooked by many first time buyers. Assess your income and expenses to see what monthly mortgage payments you could afford without too much stress. Look at cutting out some of your non essential spending in order to buy your home. Don’t forget to factor in Mortgage Interest Relief – which is worth about €10k over 7 years to a first time buyer couple on a mortgage of €180k
Be aware that  Mortgage relief (TRS) is due to be removed from first time buyers who purchase after 2012.

House prices have fallen by as much as 50% from the peak  in some parts of Ireland – and they are not expected to drop too much further.
The “average”  house price drop has been made to look worse because of the glut of unwanted apartments and smaller houses in ghost estates where nobody wants to live.

Good quality new and second hand homes in established residential areas have not lost as much value. Large one off rural houses have also kept some of their value.

Affordability :  For first time buyers in employment – houses are much more affordable now than they were 3 or 4 years ago. Mortgage rates are still low – and the ECB rate  looks like it could be coming down again.
Stamp duty has added an extra cost for first time buyers in 2011 of 1% – but non FTBs have seen a massive drop in stamp duty rates.

Trading Up :Homeowners who want to trade up will have seen the value of their property fall – but the prices of bigger houses have fallen by a larger amount . So , as long as they are not in negative equity ,  they will need to find less money now to upgrade than they did  3 or 4 years ago.  

Do you have a deposit?

You can get better mortgage deals if you have a sizeable deposit.  A buyer with an average-sized mortgage and a 10% deposit might pay roughly €3,500 less over three years than a buyer  with a 20%  deposit. However, if you spend 3 years trying to save up a bigger  deposit while paying rent – you could be struggling during those 3 years .

Can you handle an increase in interest rates?

You need to be able to handle interest rate increases. Even if you’re after a fixed-rate mortgage, if it’s just fixed for a couple of years you may then find that interest rates have risen by, say, 1%. Could you handle that extra €100 or €200 per month?

The main thing to remember is that a house is firstly a home to live in – not  an investment . Past data shows that property has been a good long-term investment and buying when you are younger will probably save you more money in the long run compared to a life time of renting. If  more people are renting – there will be a shortage of good rental homes which will push up rents.

Long term renters will have to find the money to pay rent until they die – and will have nothing to show for it . Homeowners will be usually mortgage free and rent free after 25 years or so and will have a property that will be worth something at the end of it.

Negative equity is only a problem when you want to sell the house – so try and get a house that you can see yourself living in for several years. If you plan on moving within a couple of years – then renting may be the best option.