A historic change is coming for first-time buyers’ borrowing, what it means for you

'The Celtic Tiger is alive!'

The mortgage lender will be the first financial institution in Ireland to offer this to customers since the financial crash in 2008.

The Central Bank's loan-to-income limit restricts the amount of money first-time buyers can borrow to a maximum of four times their gross income.

For instance, a first-time buyer couple with a combined income of €100,000 can borrow up to a maximum of €400,000.

That said, banks and other lenders are able to apply an exemption to this for 15 per cent of their mortgage book.

Comparison and switching website Bonkers.ie sent a statement to JOE about Núa Money's new initiative.

It reads: "Up until now, the maximum amount anyone could borrow with a mortgage exemption was generally 4.5 times their gross income, though in some rare cases, you might have been able to get a mortgage of 4.75 times with some lenders.

"So this is a fairly big change and will obviously lead to fears that we're returning to the reckless lending that was seen during the Celtic Tiger years."

However, Bonkers.ie also added: "Núa is still only a tiny player in the mortgage market with maybe a market share of 1 or 2%. And under the Central Bank’s strict rules, only 15% of a mortgage provider's lending can breach the standard four-time income mortgage limit.

"So, the impact on the wider market and property prices will be fairly limited for now. Though it will be interesting to see if any other lenders follow Núa's lead on this."

Bonkers.ie also highlighted Núa's "quite high" interest rates, stating that their new initiative is "not an attractive option for a lot of people".

"However, the key to getting first-time buyers onto the property ladder is not giving out endlessly bigger and bigger mortgages," the comparison and switching website said.

"Rather, we need to ramp up housing output and look at ways to reduce the cost of construction in Ireland."

As Bonkers.ie's predicted, several online commenters have compared the Núa initiative to the Celtic Tiger days.

Reacting to an Independent.ie article about the news, one person wrote on Reddit: "THE CELTIC TIGER IS ALIVE!"

Another said: "The boom is back, baby!"

A third said: "I've seen this episode before…"

JOE reached out to Núa Money for comment.

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