House prices are still on the rise, putting people under increasing pressure to pull together the funds needed to buy a home.

Yes, the pace of growth may have abated – prices rose by 7.5 per cent in July, down from 7.9 per cent the previous month according to Central Statistics Office (CSO) figures – but they are still increasing. Nationally, the average price stood at a staggering €422,418 in the 12 months to July, while in Dublin, the average was €588,057.

Given an average annual income of just under €53,000, an income multiple of four times salary means the amount the average earner can borrow (about €212,000 in this example) is now dwarfed by house prices.

While Government incentive schemes can help, it makes sense to try to maximise the amount you can borrow while still remaining within Central Bank guidelines as well as your means.

“Having that extra buying power of €10,000-€50,000, it seems like a lot of money today but over the life of a mortgage it’s not,” says Margaret Barrett, managing director of Mortgage Navigators. She notes that such a scenario will work out about €5 more a month in repayments over a 30-year term.

So how do you give yourself a bit of an edge to access extra money? Here, we take a look at how you might be able to boost what you can borrow.

Exceptions

Under the Central Bank’s mo