The head of Ulster Bank Jim Brown has said over half of first-time buyers will not be able to get a mortgage because of new rules imposed by the Central Bank.
Most potential buyers will be able to borrow only 80% of the price of a house – and will have to save up the rest of the money themselves.
“We estimate that 68% of the first-time buyers mortgages approved by Ulster Bank this year would have fallen outside the LTV [Loan-to-Value] and-or loan-to-income criteria,” Mr Brown told the Oireachtas Finance Committee.
He added that “An efficient economy and marketplace in a country like Ireland is dependent on a fully-functioning mortgage market.”