We are seeing more and more new mortgages being initiated with a loan-to-income ratio of near, or exactly 3.5 times income – the limit set by the mortgage measures. But before we jump to conclusions about the role of the mortgage measures, it is worth taking a step back, and looking at how the Irish housing market compares with other housing markets globally.
The Irish housing market in a global context Concerns over housing affordability have existed in major cities across Europe and the world for a long time.19 Housing affordability concerns are not unique to Ireland. Housing supply constraints have been raised as an issue by the IMF referring to European cities such as London, Paris, Stockholm, Copenhagen and Oslo.