There was a mixed response to today's Central Bank announcement, with many welcoming the relaxation in lending rules, while others expressed concerns about possible unintended consequences of the action.
Alan Begley and Nicole Scully are long-time renters, but their landlord recently decided to sell the property.
The couple found a new house, but the new rent was 30% higher than what they had been paying.
It has prompted them to seriously look at buying a house for the first time, but they were unsure how today's easing of lending rules by the Central Bank would impact on them.
"It's good if you earn a good bit of money... But the price of houses obviously, it could impact that," says Mr Begley.
"It could be beneficial I suppose, but it depends on your situation," agreed Ms Scully.
One Carlow estate agent - June Doran Properties - said they had seen an upsurge in inquiries today after the announcement was made.
"Literally the phone has hopped all day long," said Ms Doran.
"They realise they can borrow more; they realise they can now afford these houses.
"I think it's great, I think it's really going to bridge the gap for a lot of people teetering on the edge of affordability. They may already have approval, but it's not enough to actually get them the home that they want...so this is going to bring them into the range that they can afford to buy."
Asked if she thought, the move could fuel an increase in house prices, Ms Doran said, she did not believe that would happen.
"I think it may actually increase the numbers of houses going on the market. It will encourage people who were thinking of trading up. So now their house can now go on the market in order for them to buy," she said.
"I don't think this will cause a rise in house prices, certainly not in the short term."
Not everyone agrees - and worries there could be unintended consequences.
"The macro-credential rules that have been amended today are not there to regulate house prices, they're there to protect borrowers and banks from borrowing too much or lending too much," says Trevor Grant, Chairperson of the Association of Irish Mortgage Advisors.
"We fundamentally have a supply issue for housing everybody knows this," he said.
"So the slight concern is that with more money being available to more borrowers in the short-term until we have adequate supply; Is that going to push up house prices?"
However, Mr Grant says we do not know yet and we will only find out in the future. He adds that he is not concerned that we are going to repeat the mistakes of the past.
"Unlike the historical issue we had during the crash, all mortgages are stress tested at plus 2% of monthly payments and borrowers also have to demonstrate that they have the capacity to pay the mortgage," he said.
"So no, I don't think we're going back to where we came from."
