. . . but some singletons are under pressure, writes Edel Morgan

Have first-time buyers somehow become an indestructible force? With this season starting off with sell-out launch after sell-out launch of new developments, and with estate agents reporting that 60-90 per cent of purchasers are first-time buyers, one would be forgiven for thinking that they have developed a teflon-like immunity to the effects of five ECB interest rate rises.

With the second-hand private treaty and auction market showing signs of a slow-down, first-time buyers - traditionally viewed as a vulnerable group - continue to snap up property all around them.

When I asked one estate agent why this was happening, he explained that many first-time buyers turn up at a launch armed with mortgage approval which has been subjected to a 2 per cent stress test. This means that the mortgage lender has tested that the borrower will still be able to afford repayments if interest rates rise by 2 per cent. He dismissed any suggestion that this frenzy of buying was a temporary phenomenon, saying it's unlikely that interest rates would rise significantly further given the state of the German economy.

While the stress test might give buyers a certain sense of security, they should perhaps take into account that the banks don't always have their best interests at heart. They haven't exactly heeded Central Bank warnings that we are becoming the most indebted nation in the euro zone thanks to the availability of 100 per cent mortgages, the promotion of interest-only loans and longer lending terms.

Another agent who deals mostly with new-build properties told me that, while second-hand and auction properties have been asking inflated prices that the market will no longer tolerate, new homes are attracting the crowds because they are "priced to sell" and have the advantage of being free of stamp duty for first-time buyers.

But even given the moderation in the cost of new homes and the absence of stamp duty, interest rate rises have resulted in a very noticeable increase in mortgage repayments. For example, at one of the recent sell-out launches at the Paddocks in Adamstown near Lucan the cheapest two-bed apartment was around €290,000. Quite a good price in today's market you might think but, according to Bank of Ireland calculations, the repayments on a 92 per cent mortgage for a first-time buyer on a discount tracker rate of 4.5 per cent APR would be a hefty €1,630 per month over 20 years, €1,422 over 25 years and €1,195 over 35 years.

To qualify for this 92 per cent mortgage, according to the Bank of Ireland, a single person would need to be earning €56,200 and a couple €59,200. Earlier this month the Minister of State for the Environment Noel Ahern insisted people can still afford houses in Dublin. He then cited the example of a couple on a combined income of €76,000 a year, based on the average industrial and non-industrial wage, as being sufficient to meet mortgage repayments.

He didn't mention how a single person on the average industrial or non-industrial wage might be able to afford their own home.

So has something got to give? It appears it already has. A recent survey by IFG Mortgages suggests that first-time buyers have been affected by the current economic climate after all. Apparently, in the third quarter of 2006, the number of single applications fell from 40 per cent to 35 per cent. This is a turnaround from the previous two years when single first-time buyers, and in particular women, were a major force in the mortgage market, with the level of applicants growing at a faster rate than joint applicants.

The trend is now for people to buy with a partner or with one or more friends or siblings. Mortgage terms are getting longer, which allows people to spread their repayments over a 30- or 35-year period. Around 33 per cent of applicants are opting for longer terms compared to 19 per cent this time last year. This means that some buyers won't pay off their mortgage until they are into their sixties (in many cases far older than their parents were), while the previously more affordable 20-year term would have seen many of the same people debt-free by the age of 50. However, as it's likely that the option to work into your 70s will eventually be introduced here - as has already happened in the UK and North America - some would argue that it's a matter of adjusting to a changing world.

Is it possible that the current race to buy property among first-time buyers is down to a desperate feeling that, if they don't get in now, they may be consigned to the rental market for ever if interest rates continue to rise? With housing completions likely to reach 85,000-90,000 by the end of this year, the construction and property industries are banking on continued consumer demand. However, some economists have said that a combination of high property prices and rising interest rates could eventually kill demand from many first-time buyers, whether or not they have help from parents and other sources. Meanwhile, new homes continue to be conspicuously consumed by first-time buyers with reports of more hugely successful launches last weekend.