Borrowers from Dublin also accounted for a higher share of mortgages for new semi-detached or terraced homes, representing 55pc of these types of homes in Meath.
This figure rose to 60pc in Kildare. Around one in four first-time buyers were buying or building outside their own counties throughout last year, the report found.
The number of first-time buyers drawing down a mortgage for a home located in a different county rose 5pc from 2021 levels and was most evident in Leinster, according to the BPFI.
“This likely reflects increased competition between buyers in the property market and huge demand from first-time buyers, with this cohort looking further afield and becoming more willing to move county to buy their first home,” said BPFI chief executive Brian Hayes.
Other factors influencing this growth include the ability to work from home more regularly, as well as the Government’s First Home and Help to Buy schemes.
“More than one in five of the workforce in Ireland is now working from home on a regular basis, according to latest Eurostat figures, giving buyers more flexibility on where to choose a home,” Mr Hayes said.
At least half of first-time buyer mortgages drawn down to buy properties in Kildare, Meath, Laois and Wicklow are from borrowers from other counties, according to the BPFI.
“Given the impact of Help to Buy and the First Home Scheme in incentivising first-time buyers to buy or build new properties, it is also notable that Kildare, Meath, Laois and Wicklow accounted for about 35pc of Help to Buy claims in 2023,” Mr Hayes said.
He also pointed to Central Statistics Office data that showed 31pc of new-scheme house completions last year were in those four counties.
The BPFI also found that borrowers from Limerick represented 13pc of first-time buyer mortgages drawn down to buy a home in Clare in 2023.
The majority of first-time buyer mortgages in Ireland were used to buy existing properties last year.
This number rose just 0.3pc across the year to 16,985, but was the highest number of first-time buyer mortgages on existing properties since 2005.
First-time buyer mortgages used to buy or build new properties rose 4.2pc across the year to reach 8,606. This was the highest level for this type of mortgage since 2008.
Dublin represents almost a third of all mortgages used to purchase homes, followed by Cork at 11.7pc and Kildare at 8.3pc.
BPFI also reported that the median income for first-time buyers of new properties is €78,000 in the southeast of Ireland. This was the lowest in the country for this category.
The median annual income of those buying an existing property was lower, at €66,000 last year.
