THE Government’s First Home shared equity scheme has generated big interest from first-time buyers.

New figures show that 1,336 buyers have been approved for the scheme since it was launched last July.

It is designed to bridge the gap for those whose income is too low to get them a big enough mortgage to buy their first home.

It is for those who do not qualify for social housing, but have not got a big enough income to get a mortgage from a bank or non-bank lender to buy in the current property market.

In an update, First Home said 1,336 buyers have been approved and received eligibility certs.

Buyers in Dublin, Cork, Kildare, Meath and Wicklow are heaviest users of the scheme.

In the first three months of the year more than 1,000 new expressions of interest were received. This follows a change to the scheme’s eligibility to include thousands of additional buyers with effect from January. The limit for eligible homes was increased by up to €75,000.

It was set up with a €400m funding and is a joint venture between the State and three banks.

These are AIB, including subsidiaries EBS and Haven, Bank of Ireland and Permanent TSB, but it is open to other lenders.

The price ceiling for homes under the First Home scheme was widened in January for first-time buyers.

The new price ceilings include houses with prices of up to €475,000 in the scheme, depending on their location.

Apartments with a purchase price of up to €500,000 are also eligible, depending on their location.
This is up by €75,000.
The latest update shows that 1,336 buyers in 24 counties have been approved by the scheme and have received eligibility certificates allowing them to buy their chosen home.

A joint application is counted as one buyer, not two.

Some 257 buyers have already completed the purchase of their home using the Scheme.

A further 291 applications are currently being processed, with approvals expected to issue shortly in many of these cases.

A total of 3,556 potential buyers have registered their interest in it, with over 1,000 new expressions of interest received between January to March.

The average purchase price for completed purchases is €368,000.

Average support levels being provided by First Home in these cases is €71,000. This is around 19pc of the average purchase price.

First Home's chief executive Michael Broderick said the first quarter of 2023 was the busiest quarter to date in terms of buyers being approved for the scheme and getting their eligibility certs.

“The scheme is making a big difference for the people who are using it and we expect to see continued strong growth in the quarters ahead,” he said.

Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien said the scheme has already helped hundreds of people to buy their first home.

“The changes to the scheme criteria that were implemented in January are having a clear effect, allowing thousands more buyers to qualify for the Scheme and use it to help them get the home they want.”.

He said the scheme is all about bridging the affordability gap so that people can buy a home even if their combined mortgage and deposit falls short of the purchase price.

"It’s working well in achieving that and I would encourage first-time buyers to consider it as one of the key supports that’s available under Housing for All," he said.