First-time buyer purchases rise 11.4% as new homes take larger share of Irish market
€1.82bn of homes changed hands in June as new dwelling purchases increased 15.8%, while existing home transactions fell 3.8%
19 August 2026 | đŸ“§Â editor@ipropertyradio.com
First-time buyer activity strengthened in June as Ireland’s residential market recorded €1.82 billion worth of household property purchases, with new homes accounting for a growing share of transactions.
Revenue data published by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) shows 1,705 first-time buyer purchases were filed in June 2026, up 11.4% from 1,531 in June 2025.
Of those purchases, 699 were new dwellings and 1,006 were existing properties. This means almost 41% of homes bought by first-time buyers during the month were new homes.
The figures point to a notable divergence between Ireland’s new and second-hand housing markets.
A total of 4,058 household market purchases were filed in June. Existing dwellings accounted for 2,973 transactions, or 73.3% of the total, down 3.8% compared with June 2025.
New dwellings accounted for the remaining 1,085 purchases, or 26.7%, representing a 15.8% annual increase.
For buyers, this means that while almost three out of every four transactions continue to involve an existing home, the growth in activity is currently coming from the new-build side of the market.
The shift is particularly significant for first-time buyers. They accounted for 699 of the 1,085 new dwelling purchases recorded during June, equivalent to around 64% of the new homes included in the household market transaction data.
€1.82bn spent on homes in June
The value of homes purchased also increased.
Households spent €1.82 billion on market-price dwelling purchases filed with Revenue during June, up 6.8% from €1.71 billion in June 2025. The total was also 6.8% higher than the €1.71 billion recorded in May 2026.
Existing homes accounted for €1.31 billion, or 71.7%, of June’s transaction value. This was 3.7% higher than a year earlier despite the number of existing home purchases falling by 3.8%.
That combination — fewer existing homes changing hands but a higher aggregate amount being spent on them — is consistent with a higher average transaction value across the mix of existing properties sold, although the figures alone do not establish the change in like-for-like prices.
New homes accounted for €516.1 million, or 28.3%, of the value of household purchases. This was 15.8% higher than in June 2025.
Existing homes still dominate the market
For homeowners considering selling, the data shows the second-hand market remains by far the largest source of housing available to purchasers.
Almost three-quarters of June transactions involved existing properties. First-time buyers alone purchased 1,006 existing homes during the month, demonstrating that the second-hand market remains an important route into homeownership despite the policy focus on increasing new housing supply.
However, transaction volumes in this part of the market moved in the opposite direction to new builds in June. Existing dwelling purchases declined 3.8% year-on-year while new dwelling purchases increased 15.8%.
The figures therefore suggest that increased new-build activity is adding transactions to the market at a time when turnover of existing homes remains constrained.
More than 20,700 first-time buyers in 12 months
Across the 12 months to June 2026, 51,253 household dwelling purchases at market prices were filed with Revenue.
Former owner-occupiers remained the largest buyer group, purchasing 25,689 homes, equivalent to 50.1% of the total.
First-time buyer owner-occupiers accounted for 20,716 transactions, or 40.4%, while non-occupiers purchased 4,848 properties, representing 9.5%.
In practical terms, around four in every ten household market purchases over the year were made by first-time buyers, while approximately half involved people who had previously owned a home.
The annual figures also show that owner-occupiers collectively accounted for just over 90% of household purchases covered by the CSO data.
New and existing home inflation converges
The latest quarterly price figures show an increasingly similar rate of inflation between new and existing properties.
New dwelling prices in the second quarter of 2026 were 6.0% higher than during the same quarter of 2025. That compares with annual growth of 6.4% in Q1 2026 and 4.3% in Q2 2025.
Existing dwelling prices increased by 5.9% year-on-year in Q2 2026.
The direction of travel is different, however. Annual inflation for existing homes has slowed from 7.0% in Q1 2026 and 8.8% in Q2 2025.
For new homes, annual inflation has risen from 4.3% a year earlier to 6.0%.
The gap between annual new and existing home price inflation has therefore narrowed to just 0.1 percentage points.
The CSO produces separate new and existing dwelling price indices quarterly rather than monthly because transaction numbers for new homes are lower and a monthly series would be more volatile.
Prices remain far above post-crash lows
The longer-term figures illustrate the scale of the increase in Irish residential property values.
New dwelling prices are now 147.9% above their trough in the middle of 2013, meaning the index is approximately two-and-a-half times its low point.
Existing dwelling prices have increased by 184.3% from their 2012 trough, leaving the index at approximately 2.84 times its lowest level.
The June figures follow CSO data for May showing national residential property prices were 6.2% higher than a year earlier. In May, prices increased by 4.7% in Dublin and 7.3% outside the capital. The median dwelling price over the 12 months to May stood at €395,000.
For prospective buyers, the latest transaction data presents a mixed picture. More new homes are reaching purchasers and first-time buyer transaction numbers are increasing, but property prices continue to rise and existing homes — which still provide almost three-quarters of market transactions — recorded a decline in sales volumes in June.
For sellers, the fall in existing-home transactions does not in itself indicate weaker prices. The value of existing properties purchased rose despite fewer transactions, while the latest quarterly index shows existing dwelling prices remained 5.9% higher than a year earlier.
The CSO Residential Property Price Index is based principally on stamp duty returns filed with the Revenue Commissioners and measures residential properties purchased by households. It excludes purchases by non-households, non-market transactions and self-builds where land is purchased separately.
