Twenty-five per cent of properties that qualify for the first-time buyers scheme are in the Dublin area.

A new report from Daft.ie reveals there are currently only 2,540 homes around the country that qualify, by virtue of being new builds worth less than €600,000.

After Dublin, commuter counties Kildare and Meath have the next greatest proportion of eligible houses, with Cork and Kerry rounding out the top five.

Daft.ie’s public relations and communications manager Martin Clancy said some counties have no qualifying properties at all.

“Only 6% of the qualifying properties are in Cork for example, and that decreases as you move into other counties. Waterford, for example, only has 1%,” he said.