A REVIEW INTO house prices has been completed and decisions will be made “rapidly” to make sure costs do not price out homeowners from availing of government’s local authority home loan scheme, the housing minister has said.

His comments come after the Irish Times reported today that the price of affordable homes at a new state-development in Co. Kildare were above the threshold for new homeowners to avail of the mortgage scheme.

The Local Authority Home Loan is open to first-time buyers and fresh start applicants who wish to purchase a new or second-hand property or for self-build. It provides up to 90% of the market value of the property.

The maximum loan amount is determined by where the property is located. In Kildare, the local authority has limited the loan scheme to properties priced at €360,000 and under.

Three-bed homes at the new estate cost €370,000. Asked about the disparity today, Housing Minister James Browne said he was “not happy” about it.

He said a review he commissioned on the issue was delivered to him yesterday.

He told reporters in Dublin: “We’ll make a decision on those will be made very rapidly, so we can get that review carried out and finished and get limits increased where they need to be increased.

“But, absolutely, that disparity – I’m not happy with that, and I’m going to have that addressed.”

Minister James Browne said he was "not happy" about the disparity. Alamy Alamy

Homeowners have previously told The Journal that they found the loan scheme “restrictive” and that the details of the scheme, which have since been amended, were unclear.

The minister said he “wouldn’t be surprised” if other new developments were also above the thresholds set for the home loan scheme, which is why, he said, he commissioned that his department review the issue. 

Browne said that he wanted to make sure that prices are aligned with the schemes available to families seeking to purchase homes.

“I want to try and get them aligned so that we don’t have this type of disparity. I know it causes stress for families – I know one particular family that it cased an awful lot of stress for. 

“I don’t want that situation to happen. The government is spending record funding on delivering housing, on supporting people to get those homes, so that kind of misalignment – I certainly want to see an end of, and intend to being an end to that.”