8 September 2026
By Valerie Ryan
valerie@TheCork.ie
A single first-time buyer in Cork now needs to earn €92,092 to buy a typical first home, according to new research from Chill Insurance. That is more than the county’s median income of €46,416, leaving a gap of €45,676 between what people earn and what they need.
Cork has the highest income requirement in the south of the country, and is the only county outside Dublin and its neighbouring commuter counties to need a salary above €90,000. Notably, this comes despite Cork having one of the higher local median incomes in the country, underlining how far prices have moved ahead of earnings.
The research compared the median first-time buyer home price in each county, using the Central Statistics Office’s Residential Property Price Index, with median local incomes from CSO earnings data. These figures were then assessed against the standard Central Bank lending rules, under which a buyer can borrow up to 90% of a home’s value and up to four times their gross income.
The picture in Cork:
Typical first-time buyer home: €409,299
Median income in Cork: €46,416
Salary needed to qualify for a mortgage: €92,092
The gap: €45,676
Economist Austin Hughes said:
“The Chill report emphasises the nationwide nature of the problem would-be homebuyers face. Even allowing for ongoing wage growth, in no county is the typical first-time buyer property accessible at present to the median wage-earner, unless they are in a position to get additional financial support from the State and/or their family.
With would-be buyers in Dublin and surrounding counties now needing around twice the typical wage in those areas, and approaching that in Cork and Galway, this ‘purchase gap’ is growing and spreading in a worrisome manner.”
Ian O’Reilly, Director of Sales and Operations at Chill Insurance, said:
“In Cork, a single buyer earning the local median income would still not earn enough to borrow what they need for a typical first home. For many first-time buyers, closing that gap means saving a larger deposit, buying with another person or looking at State supports such as the First Home Scheme or the Local Authority Home Loan.”
Key national findings:
No county is affordable for a single buyer on the national median salary of €44,816
Three counties now need a six-figure salary: Dublin, Kildare and Wicklow
The five least affordable counties are all in Leinster
Five counties need salaries above €90,000
Connacht and Ulster make up most of the affordable list
For the full county-by-county figures, methodology and information on the options available to first-time buyers, see the full report:
https://www.chill.ie/blog/incomes-required-to-afford-homes/