Local TD John Paul Phelan says the move to allow people to borrow more on their mortgage is being brought in because people are already paying more in rent than their repayment would be.
First-time buyers will be permitted to borrow four times their gross income from January, an increase from the current 3.5 times rate.
Under the changes to lending rules, second-time buyers will now need a 10% deposit when purchasing a property, down from the previous threshold of 20%.
The changes have been met with some concern that house prices may increase further.
Fine Gael’s John Paul Phelan has been telling KCLR news why it’s being changed:
“Part of the reason for this is a recognition that it’s incredibly difficult to pay rent and also then to be able to get together a deposit and to get to be able to have the mortgage in place,” said Deputy Phelan.
