In 1991, two thirds of households owned their own home at the age of 28. Family formation these days would normally push into the 30s. But the age at which two thirds own their home has now risen to 44
Economist Seamus Coffey sliced the data in a slightly different way. He calculated that in 2011, 22 per cent of households had a “reference person” under 35, but by 2022 this had fallen to 14 per cent. Adjusting for the falling population among this group, he calculated that the 2022 level was 70,000 households short of 2011. Further evidence of the young being squeezed out.
A second half-answered policy question is about where people live. The census figures show that the biggest increase since the previous census has been in the Dublin commuter counties of Meath and Kildare, both up by 11 per cent. Many will commute into the city centre, though post-Covid working from home will reduce this a bit.