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Moving home in Ireland: selling one and buying the next, step by step
Checked 21 Oct 2026the Central Bank's mortgage measures, Revenue's rules and the scheme operators' published terms.
Moving home is two deals that have to land together. This journey runs through both in the order they happen: what your home is worth, what you can borrow as a mover, how to time the sale and the purchase, the two sets of fees, and the day both close. Every figure comes from an official source with the date it was checked.
This journey assumes: You own a home, with or without a mortgage, and you are selling it to buy the next one.
Work out what your home is worth and what you would walk away with
Look up what homes like yours sold for on the Property Price Register, then ask two or three agents (with a PSRA licence) to appraise it; appraisals are free. Take off what is left on your mortgage, the agent's fee and the solicitor. What is left is your equity: the money you put towards the next home.
Find out what you can borrow as a mover
A second-time buyer can borrow up to 3.5 times their income under the Central Bank rules, and up to 90% of the price. That is lower than the 4 times a first-time buyer gets. Your equity plus 3.5 times your income sets the price you can reach. The lender adds its own tests on top.
Decide: sell first, buy first, or both at once
Selling first is the surest: you know your equity and you are a cash-ready buyer, but you may need to rent for a while. Buying first needs a bridging loan, which since 8 April 2026 does not count in the income limit for up to 18 months, but it costs interest by the month. Most people try to close both on the same day, with both sides in the one solicitor's firm.
Ask your lender for a redemption figure and the breakage fee
The redemption figure is what it costs to pay off your mortgage today. If you are on a fixed rate there may be a breakage fee, which the lender must give you in writing. Ask whether you can carry the mortgage to the new home (called porting) to avoid the fee. If the figure is more than the home is worth, that is negative equity: talk to MABS first, for free, and then to the lender.
Get a BER and choose an agent
You cannot advertise without a BER from an assessor on SEAI's register. Check the agent's PSRA licence, then agree the fee and the asking price in a letter of engagement before any marketing starts. A fixed fee or a lower percentage is often available if you ask.
Choose a solicitor for both sides
One firm can act on the sale and the purchase, and it makes same-day closing far simpler. Ask for the fee for each side, the VAT and the outlays as separate lines. Ask them now to get your deeds back from the lender: it can take weeks.
Get approval in principle for the new mortgage
Approval in principle is a lender saying on paper what it would lend you, usually for six months. Agents will ask for it before they take your bid. A broker on the Central Bank register can compare most lenders; a bank shows you its own offer. Either way the lender will want to see your own home sale agreed before a full loan offer.
Put your home on the market and take offers
The agent runs the viewings and tells every bidder where the bidding stands. You are entitled to see the record of offers. The highest offer is not always the one to take: a buyer with approval in principle and no home to sell is more certain. When you accept, the buyer pays a booking deposit and you are sale agreed, which is not yet binding.
Find the next home and bid
Bid in writing, with your approval in principle, and tell the agent you are sale agreed on your own home. Set your top price before you start, with stamp duty at 1% on top. When your bid is accepted you pay a booking deposit, refundable until contracts.
Survey the home you are buying
Book an engineer or building surveyor (Engineers Ireland or the SCSI) straight after sale agreed. The lender's valuation is not a survey. If the report finds work, go back on the price through the agent or walk away before contracts.
Loan offer, mortgage protection and home insurance
The lender values the new home (about €185) and issues a loan offer, valid for about six months. It has conditions: mortgage protection, buildings insurance from the day you sign, and proof your sale is closing. Your existing protection policy can often be reassigned to the new loan instead of buying a new one at an older age.
Sign both contracts with the same closing date
Your solicitor signs the sale contract and the purchase contract together, so you are never bound on one without the other. You pay 10% of the new price at signing, and your buyer pays you 10%. From here both deals are binding, and the closing dates are fixed in the contracts.
Closing day: both homes change hands
Your buyer's money arrives, your old mortgage is paid off from it, your new loan draws down, and the balance goes to your seller. Keys are released in the afternoon, so book the removals firm with waiting time agreed. Stamp duty on the new home is paid through your solicitor within 44 days.
After the move: the tax check, LPT and the fixed rate
If the home you sold was always your main home there is no capital gains tax, but if it was let for a time there may be, at 33% (31% announced for contracts from 7 October 2026). You pay LPT on the new home from the next 1 November. Set a reminder for the end of your new fixed rate.
Capital gains tax calculator →Local Property Tax calculator →Fixed rate ending reminder →Capital gains tax when selling a house in IrelandPrincipal private residence relief: no CGT on your homeLocal Property Tax when you buy a homeYour fixed rate is ending: the three options before you roll to variable
Who you need on this journey
Mortgage advisor (broker)Ticked for you
Porting, bridging and the 3.5 times rule
Conveyancing solicitorYou will need this
One firm can handle both sides
BER assessorYou will need this
Before the sale is advertised
Estate agent or valuerYou will need this
To sell the one you are in
Surveyor or engineer (pre-purchase or structural survey)You will need this
On the one you are buying
Mortgage protection and home insuranceMost people use one
On the new loan
RemovalsMost people use one
Two homes on one day
Questions people ask
Can I buy a new home before I sell my old one?
Yes, if a lender will give you a bridging loan or a second mortgage while the first is still running. Since 8 April 2026 a bridging loan on your home does not count in the Central Bank's income limit, for up to 18 months. It costs interest by the month, so most people try to close both on the same day instead.
How much can I borrow as a second-time buyer?
Up to 3.5 times your income and 90% of the price under the Central Bank rules. Each lender may go above that for 15% of its mover lending in a year, at its own choice. Lenders add their own tests on top.
Do I pay stamp duty when I move?
Yes, on the home you buy: 1% of the price up to €1 million, 2% on the part from €1 million to €1.5 million, and 6% above. There is no relief for movers. Your solicitor files and pays it within 44 days of closing.
Can I move my mortgage to the new house?
Some lenders let you carry your existing rate to the new home, called porting, which can avoid a breakage fee on a fixed rate. Each lender has its own rules. Ask your lender for the redemption figure and the porting terms in writing before you decide.
What if my sale falls through after I have signed to buy?
That is the risk of signing the two contracts separately. Signing them together, through one solicitor, with the same closing date, is how most people avoid it. If it happens, talk to your solicitor and your lender at once.
Do I pay capital gains tax when I sell my home?
Not if it was your main home for the whole time you owned it. If it was let, or you lived elsewhere for a time, part of the gain can be taxed at 33% (31% announced for contracts from 7 October 2026). The last twelve months always count as your home.