New figures from the Central Statistics Office show that the proportion of homes purchased in Ireland with a mortgage stood at 62.6% in 2021, down from a series high of 64.7% in 2019.
The CSO's latest research on Characteristics of Residential Property Purchasers reveals the median price paid for a home bought with a mortgage was over 40% higher than a home bought without a mortgage - €309,000 compared to €220,000.
"Mortgage purchasers tend to account for a greater proportion of transactions in the residential property market. This cohort is younger, has higher income and purchase more expensive dwellings than their non-mortgage counterparts," CSO statistician Sean O'Connor said.
Today's figures show that the median loan amount was €220,000 in 2021 compared to €213,600 the previous year.
They also reveal that home buyers with a mortgage had a median age of 37 compared with 47 for those who purchased without a mortgage.
The highest median age of buyers with a mortgage was 40 in Kerry, while the lowest was in Kildare and Meath at 35.
The median income of a buyer with a mortgage was higher at €79,200 compared with €49,900 for a buyer without a mortgage, the CSO figures show.
South Dublin had the largest proportion of mortgaged transactions in 2021, at 77%.
South Dublin was the Local Authority with the largest proportion of mortgaged transactions in 2021, at 76.5%. This was followed by Fingal (73.8%) and Kildare (73.6%).
In contrast, Donegal had the lowest proportion of mortgaged transactions at 34.6%
Meanwhile, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown was the region with the highest median price for both mortgage and non-mortgage purchasers at €610,000 and €560,000, respectively.
This region has the highest median price for both mortgage and non-mortgage purchasers each year since 2016, the CSO noted.
Today's CSO figures also show that Dún Laoghaire Rathdown was the local authority with the highest median income of buyers with a mortgage at €126,900, followed by Dublin City at €93,300.
Longford was the region with the lowest median income of buyers with a mortgage at €56,000.
Longford also had the lowest median income of buyers without a mortgage at €33,600, followed closely by Monaghan at €33,900.
Dún Laoghaire Rathdown was the region with the highest median income of buyers without a mortgage at €68,500, followed by Dublin City at €67,400.
