Supply impacting first-time buyers scheme in the West
THE Galway CEO of a programme for first-time buyers has said it is proving more difficult to promote awareness of the scheme in the West of Ireland because there are fewer houses being built this side of the country.
The First Home Scheme has supported the purchase of 90 dwellings in Co Galway since it launched in July of 2022.
A total of 133 applicants in the Co Galway area have been approved for funding in the four years of the scheme, which takes an equity stake of up to 30 per cent of the home in exchange for supplying funding to the successful applicant.
Ballyglunin native Michael Broderick is the CEO of the First Home Scheme. He told The Tuam Herald that there is a market for property developers to deliver homes – such as three-bed semi-detached units – suitable for first-time buyers under the scheme, but that housing supply is short in the West of Ireland at present.
“We do go around the country to various events to make people aware of the scheme,” offered Michael Broderick.
“Awareness is increasing on the East coast, a lot of builders and agents are promoting it, but there’s not the same supply of housing in the West at the moment.
Effective in getting on property ladder
“Galway city is different, it’s when you go out of the city, to the county, to Roscommon and Mayo. There’s not the same supply of new homes being built.
“There is a market there for the right product at the right price, but there a lot of fears still with some people who got caught during the last recession. Some developers are quite happy to deliver ten to 20 units a year.”
The maximum price ceiling for a dwelling under the First Home Scheme varies across the local authorities. In County Galway, the price ceiling is €450,000, while in Galway city that rises to €475,000.
Some 67 per cent of First Home Scheme users are also availing of the Help to Buy (HTB) Scheme, another funding mechanism for first-time buyers that provides them with up to ten per cent of the property’s purchase price or €30,000, whichever is the lower amount.
“There is no service charge or interest for the first five years of the First Home Scheme. It’s not like a mortgage, it’s very different,” said Michael Broderick.
“You can use the Help to Buy Scheme and the First Home Scheme together. It can be very effective in getting on the property ladder.
“It can be extremely hard to save the ten per cent for the deposit for a house. The Help to Buy Scheme comes in and works really well with our scheme. They can go a long way to securing a deposit.”
According to the First Home Scheme performance update for April-June of 2026, more than 11,000 applicants nationwide have been approved for the scheme since July of 2022, and 19 per cent of all approvals have come in 2026.
The scheme has helped people buy almost 6,000 homes. The average figure of financial support given to successful applicants is €67,000.