It now takes first-time buyers 15 years to save enough for a deposit, says money expert Eoin McGee

That’s the stark warning from RTÉ presenter and money expert Eoin McGee, who describes the housing market of 2024 as “by far the toughest time to buy a house”.

Speaking to the Sunday Independent, as he prepares to front his new series The Complaints Bureau on RTÉ One, McGee says “the generation who can’t buy a house is coming”.

“If you’re graduating from college this year, you’ll probably be asking yourself if Irish legislation is going to keep up with you — and you’ll be asking yourself if you’d have better opportunities abroad.”

Nothing else matters when you’re stuck in the middle of it. It’s real terror.

The presenter says claims by the boomer generation (born between 1944 and 1964) that they have had it “tougher” due to high interest rates are untrue.

“Our parents’ generation say: ‘We had mortgage interest rates of 18pc and it was terrible — you don’t know how easy you have it.’ But they’re wrong. It’s much harder today to get on the property ladder, and it’s getting harder all the time.”

McGee makes his gloomy prediction based on a single person (the largest growing demographic in Ireland) on an above-average wage of €50,000, which is 20pc higher than the average salary in Ireland. He also bases his figures on a person paying the national average rent — which is €1,800 per month, according to the most recent Daft report.

In addition he allows for a person’s monthly expenditure on what is considered “a reasonable cost of living”, according to the Insolvency Service of Ireland, a government agency.

That leaves an individual with €250 per month to save, after paying rent and bills.

“So let’s say you make 20pc more than the average person. That gives you a salary of just over €50,000,” he says. “Now your take-home pay becomes €3,237 after tax. That leaves you with €250 a month spending money after bills, according to the banks and state agencies and what they agree is ‘a reasonable cost of living’. Though I can guarantee that they’re squeezing the hell out of that.

“So if you wanted to buy a house for what Daft says is the national average price of €320,000 — I’m not even talking about Dublin where house prices are higher — and you wanted to save a 10pc deposit and cover your solicitor and extra costs, you’d need to save €48,000. And if you save your €250 diligently every single month while renting, it’s going to take you just under 15 and a bit years to save enough for a deposit on a home.

“But do you know what the worst part of it is? You’re hoping the average house price stays the same.”​

McGee, a financial planner, number one bestselling author and host of the Understanding Money podcast, says he can see a divided Ireland when he is working at his company, Prosperous Financial.

“There’s a whole cohort of people who are doing OK, and there’s a whole cohort who have to dip into their savings, just to make the month work.”

If I can go through it and be OK, then there’s hope for all of us.

Speaking for the first time about his own experience of hitting financial rock bottom, McGee said he knows what it is like to struggle.

“I’ve had really tough times. We set up the business in 2008 — just as the financial crisis hit. There were times when I went to the ATM wondering if I could get money out, times I paid the staff but couldn’t pay myself.”

His lowest moment came while sitting in the office staring at his bank balance after paying his staff wages.

“As soon as I hit ‘send’, I wondered if I was going to be able to have enough for food. I wondered if I was going to be able to have enough money for petrol to get myself to work.”

He says he would describe the feeling as “pure desperation”.

“Nothing else matters when you’re stuck in the middle of it. It’s real terror. You find it difficult to see the wood from the trees. But I’ll be honest with you, it’s a game changer to talk to others — which we’re not great at doing in this country.”

With time and effort, things eventually got better — his business now employs 23 people and is “flying”.

“If I can go through it and be OK, then there’s hope for all of us.”

McGee was speaking ahead of the new RTÉ show which investigates consumer complaints from people who have struggled with problems, from not being able to cancel online subscriptions, to regulating lip filler and being scammed while abroad.

He will present the show alongside Conor Pope, Amy Molloy of the Irish Independent and Siobhán Maguire as they tackle real-life issues.​

‘The Complaints Bureau’ starts on Thursday, March 7, at 7pm on RTÉ One and the RTÉ Player