Irish mortgage interest rates back to being the most expensive in Eurozone

Ireland once again has the most expensive new mortgage rates in the Eurozone.

Rates in July were more than double the average for the rest of the 19 countries sharing the euro, according to new figures from the Central Bank.

It said that the average new mortgage rate in Ireland in July was 2.73 per cent, down 5 basis points on the same month last year. The average for the Eurozone was 1.28 per cent, although the financial regulator noted the rate varied considerably across countries.

Ireland is back to having the highest mortgage interest rates in the Eurozone, having trailed only Greece’s high homeloan repayment rates in recent months.

Despite topping the Eurozone mortgage rates league, Ireland’s rate is down 0.09 per cent compared to last year, and at its lowest level since at least August 2017.

Greece (2.58 per cent) and Latvia (2.54 per cent) have the next highest Eurozone mortgage rates to Ireland, while Portugal (0.8 per cent) and Finland (0.71 per cent) charge the lowest mortgage rates.

The weighted average interest rate on new fixed rate mortgage agreements in Ireland was 2.62 per cent in July, a decrease of 5 basis points on July 2020. Fixed rate mortgages accounted for 83 per cent of new agreements over the month.

For new variable rate mortgage agreements, the average interest rate stood at 3.29 per cent in July, a decrease of 15 basis points on July 2020.

The volume of new mortgage agreements amounted to €718 million in July, a 29 per cent increase on the same month last year, when volumes had declined significantly following the onset of Covid-19. It also represented a 5 per cent increase compared with June 2021.

Joey Sheahan, Head of Credit with MyMortgages.ie, said that the increase in the volume of new mortgage agreements in July “reflects buyers ‘catching up’ on purchases they would otherwise have made last year. The volume in August 2020 was just €468 million so we could easily see August 2021 being up 50 per cent+ higher on this number.”

Sheahan continued: “House prices continue to increase and while the Government has put plans in place to deal with the under supply, many people appear to believe that prices may keep rising and they are therefore better off buying now.”

Meanwhile, renegotiated mortgages amounted to €324 million in July, an increase of 29 per cent on the previous year. The high volume of renegotiated mortgages in July is driven by a large volume of expiring fixed-term contracts.

Breaking down the numbers

To put the figures into perspective, according to the Banking & Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI), the average first-time buyer mortgage is now around €250,000.

This means a typical first-time buyer who’s borrowing that amount over 30 years will pay almost €181 a month more for their mortgage compared to the Eurozone average, or almost €2,200 a year.

Why are Ireland’s mortgage rates so high?

One of the reasons why Irish homeowners are paying more than others in the Eurozone is due to a lack of competition in the Irish mortgage market.

The market remains heavily concentrated in the hands of a few main banks, with Allied Irish Banks, Bank of Ireland and Permanent TSB holding around 70 per cent of the mortgage market between them.

More competition would help bring down rates, but there’s anecdotal evidence that some foreign lenders are being put off entering Ireland due to the riskier nature of lending here.

Another reason concerns home repossession and the inability of banks to take back a property if the loan has gone bad.

In some European countries a bank will take back ownership of a property within the space of a year or so if the loan isn’t being repaid.

This isn’t the case in Ireland where the number of repossessions, even in cases where the mortgage has been in arrears for years, remains negligible due to the length and complexity of the process and the legal and political impediments faced by banks.

A third reason is that many Irish banks, unlike most other banks in European countries, offer cashback offers, with Permanent TSB offering 2 per cent, EBS and Bank of Ireland offering up to 3 per cent cashback, while Ulster Bank will offer €1,500 towards your legal fees.

If we factor in the cashback costs as well as the extra fee income many European banks generate through set-up and admin fees, Irish mortgage rates, although still high, are closer to the Eurozone average.

Source: https://www.buzz.ie/news/irish-news/irish-mortgage-interest-rates-back-24944099

The average price paid for a home in Ireland rose to €310,641 in the year to July, the latest figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) show.

Residential property prices increased by 8.6% nationally over the previous 12 months, compared to growth of 0.7% in the 12 months prior to last July and up from 6.9% in June.

In Dublin, house prices rose 8.1% year-on-year to a mean average of €479,454, rising to €649,916 in Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown, with prices up 9.1% outside the capital, most expensive in Wicklow €412,396.

‘In the period before COVID-19, the annual growth in residential property prices fell gradually from 13.4% in April 2018 to 0.9% in March 2020,’ CSO statistician Viacheslav Voronovich said.

‘While price growth remained subdued throughout most of 2020, a trend of accelerating growth emerged in the latter part of the year and into 2021.’

House prices nationally are still 10.7% lower than their 2007 peak, with the Dublin market 16.5% off highs posted in February 2007 and the rest of Ireland 13.1% below the May 2007 record.

Since early 2013, house prices nationally have nearly doubled (+99%), rising 106.8% in Dublin from their February 2012 low and 100% in the rest of Ireland since May 2013.

The volume of property transaction in July rose 49.2% year-on-year and 10% month-on-month, with 3,822 purchases filed with the Revenue in July compared to 2,561 the same month last year and 3,473 in June.

The total value of transaction finalised in July was €1.3 billion, with existing dwellings (3,221) accounting for 84.3% of purchases and new homes (601) representing just 15.7%.

First-time buyers made up just under a third (32.3%) of purchasers in July, and MyMortgages.ie head of credit Joey Sheahan said ‘their share of the market will continue to grow’ if the Help-to-Buy Scheme is extended in next month’s Budget.

He added that rising transaction numbers were ‘hopefully’ a sign of greater construction output.

Brokers Ireland director of financial services Rachel McGovern said that double digit growth in some area was ‘unhealthy for potential buyers and the economy at large’.

‘With the exception of the release valve presented by new blended working arrangements that would appear to have increased the appeal of areas like the South-East and the Midlands, which are seeing an 11% increase in prices, home ownership in the most populous areas of Dublin and its environs has largely become the preserve of those on higher incomes or those with strong financial support from family,’ she said.

Source: https://www.msn.com/en-ie/money/other/average-house-price-exceeds-310-000-as-home-prices-have-doubled-since-2013/ar-AAOthnI

New figures from the Banking and Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI) show that a total of 5,033 mortgages, worth almost €1.3 billion, were approved in July – the most in any month since BPFI began collecting data in 2011.

On an annualised basis, 53,511 mortgage were approved in the twelve months ending July 2021, valued at €13.1 billion. This is up 3.15 per cent compared with the twelve months ending June 2021 and an increase in value terms by 3.72 per cent over the same period.

While the figures suggest an impressive recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic for the housing sector, if we dig deeper into the numbers, the bounce back may not be as strong as it initially seems.

Breaking down the numbers

Of the 5,033 mortgages which were approved last month, first-time buyers (FTBs) were approved for 2,766 mortgages (55 per cent of total volume) while mover purchasers accounted for 1,272 (25.3 per cent).

It represented a 3.3 per cent decrease in approval volumes compared to June, but when compared to last July, approval volumes were up by 48.2 per cent.

In total, mortgages approved in July 2021 were valued at €1.2 billion – of which FTBs accounted for €707 million (55.1 per cent) and mover purchasers for €382 million (29.7 per cent). The value of mortgage approvals rose by 0.6 per cent month-on-month and by 58.3 per cent year-on-year.

What is a mortgage approval?

A mortgage approval is defined as a “firm offer” to a customer of a credit facility secured on a specific residential property.

A mortgage approval arises when the lender issues a formal offer of mortgage finance to the customer (whether it be in print or some other durable form) for a specific residential property which contains the Notice of important information to be included in a housing loan agreement specified in the Consumer Credit Act 1995.

All mortgage loans must be secured on residential property in Ireland.

Speaking on the latest figures, Brian Hayes, Chief Executive, BPFI said: “The latest mortgage approvals for July show continued growth, especially for FTB mortgages. In total almost €1.3 billion in mortgages were approved, the most in any month since BPFI began collecting this data in 2011.”

“Looking at the annualised figures which allows us to more accurately assess emerging key trends, there were 53,511 mortgage approvals in the twelve months ending July 2021, valued at almost €13.2 billion – again, the highest level since the data series began.

“The value of approvals more than doubled since the twelve months ending October 2016, driven by growth in lending to FTBs and re-mortgages or switching.”

“These are significant figures and very much signal a robust pipeline for drawdown activity later in the year.”

Figures may not paint an full picture of the property market

While Hayes claims these figures show continued growth in the housing market, there are a number of factors we must consider while analysing them in order to get a complete picture.

As pointed out by Joey Sheahan, Head of Credit with MyMortgages.ie, 2020 was a tumultuous year for the housing sector, as activity in the market was very low as a result of the initial lockdown.

“Year on year comparisons on mortgage approval figures aren’t currently the most telling as the market has been an absolute roller-coaster during Covid,” Sheahan said.

“While the overall market is booming, we are seeing a lot of borrowers renewing their mortgage approvals as their previous approvals didn’t give them sufficient time to view and enter into an agreement on a house.

“Others were unable to progress previous approval due to being on the Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme (EWSS).

“These issues were particularly challenging during lockdown in the first four months of the year so the mortgage drawdown figures could be artificially high.”

The figures in context

While the figures suggest things are improving significantly in the housing sector, it is important to remember that the mortgage market was still relatively depressed in July of last year owing to uncertainty around the trajectory of the pandemic which impacted the property market generally.

Figures released by the Central Statistics Office earlier this month show the property market continues to be stoked by pandemic-related factors, such as increased savings and lower-than-anticipated supply.

Transaction prices in June 2021 were 6.9 per cent higher -than they were in the same month last year and the spread of price increases was countrywide.

Source: https://www.buzz.ie/news/irish-news/mortgage-approvals-hit-10-year-24854957

ICS Mortgages is reducing interest rates across its new residential variable and fixed-rate mortgages.

The lender said it will cut rates by up to 0.5% from next Monday 9 August.

Fixed interest rates will start from 1.95%, while variable interest rates will start from 2.45%.

Under these new rates, ICS said a typical first-time buyer taking out a 30-year mortgage of €250,000 could save more than €18,000 over the lifetime of their mortgage, when compared to the rates offered by one of the largest providers in the market.

That estimated saving is based on a €250,000 loan over 30 years, fixed for three years, with a Loan to Value of 90%, assessed against a similar mortgage offered by the one of the largest providers in the market, with a three year fixed rate of 2.55%.

“Buying a house is the single biggest financial decision most people will make in their lifetime. In recent years, however, Irish homebuyers have been offered a shrinking pool of options for how they fund such an essential purchase,” said Ray McMahon, Chief Commercial Officer at ICS Mortgages.

Mr McMahon said that favourable international financial market conditions allow them to now offer new residential customers reduced repayments.

Daragh Cassidy of price comparison website, bonkers.ie welcomed today’s news from ICS Mortgages.

“Strong competition is needed now more than ever as PTSB, AIB and BOI could end up with well over 80% of the mortgage market if the loan sales associated with Ulster Bank and KBC’s exits go through,” he said.

Mr Cassidy said ICS Mortgages is now only the second lender in Ireland, after Avant Money to offer a rate below 2%.

However, he said we shouldn’t lose sight of the fact that Ireland has among the highest mortgage rates in the Eurozone.

“The average rate on a new mortgage here is currently 2.80%, which is over double the currency bloc’s average of 1.27%,” he pointed out.

However Mr Cassidy said recent rate reductions from the non-bank lenders in particular, such as Finance Ireland, Avant Money and now ICS mean rates slightly closer to European levels are finally becoming more widely available.

“Avant Money, Finance Ireland and even ICS may not be familiar names to many mortgage seekers, who may be tempted to go to more well-known lenders such as AIB and BOI as their first port-of-call.

“However recent developments clearly show that it is the smaller, newer lenders who are offering some of the best value right now,” he said.

Meanwhile, Joey Sheahan, Head of Credit with MyMortgages.ie said the mortgage market has grown increasingly competitive both for first time buyers and those looking to switch mortgage or trade up.

“We predict a huge upswing in existing homeowners looking to switch to reduce their monthly payments on their variable rate mortgage, or to secure long-term cost certainty with one of the new fixed rate offers,” he said.

Mr Sheahan said a borrower could save €56,000 in interest by reducing rate from 2.95% to 1.95%.

He said that would be based on a €300,000 loan at 60% loan to value over 30 years.

Source: https://www.rte.ie/news/business/2021/0805/1239114-ics-mortgages-cuts-interest-rates/

Housebuyers are paying an average of 7% more for a new home than they would have a year ago, with experts warning prices are only going to keep rising as long as the enormous gap between supply and demand remains.

The prices of homes have almost doubled since their recession-era low in 2013. While there was no increase in the year to June 2020, over the past year they have surged again — rising by between 6.9% and 6.4% in Dublin, and 7.4% across the rest of the country — according to the Central Statistics Office.

Source: https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/arid-40358162.html

Whether you’re a careful saver or – thanks to the pandemic – an accidental one, the twin forces of zero interest rates and rising prices are creating a perfect storm that will slowly wear away the value of your cash pile if you leave it languishing in a deposit account.

According to the Central Bank, the startling rise in savings growth over the past year has actually tapered off over the last couple of months as the lockdown finally starts to lift, but ordinary households are still lodging cash in bank accounts at record levels – whether they want to or not.

But if you’re worried about the value of your fund being eaten away by inflation over the next year, what are your options?

1. Invest it

Assuming you are happy to lock away a sum of money for the medium to long term, an investment strategy – whether that’s putting your money into an investment fund or managing your own investments yourself – is well worth looking at. Needless to say, there’s always an element of risk, but there are ways to mitigate this and still deliver a return that beats inflation.

“I would generally direct those interested in beating inflation to look at the managed funds route and, in particular, the index funds, ETFs (exchange-traded funds) or even managed funds from the likes of passive leaders Vanguard or even Fidelity and Dimensional,” says Frank Conway of financial wellbeing provider MoneyWhizz and a qualified financial adviser.

“Other more actively-based managers can be more expensive and this will erode the long-term growth of money without necessarily achieving any more actual real growth compared to their passive options.”

For those happy to try the DIY route using online investment platforms or brokers, equities is “where the real inflation-proofing can take shape”, Conway says, but it still takes a lot of work and research.

“It goes without saying that a good supply of reason and less emotion is required to stand a chance of success. As equity prices rise and fall, the investor needs to take reasonable profits as they happen and also, limit losses.”

Property is riskier, he adds, unless you have significant funds to play with and you are familiar with the landscape of the sector.

2. Up your pension contributions

Paying more into your pension appears to be a popular move, according to a recent survey of pension advisors by the Independent Trustee Company, with more than four in 10 people increasing their contributions during the pandemic. It’s easy to see why, as paying into your pension has not one, but two tricks up its sleeve in any battle with inflation.

The first is that your pension will be invested in a broad base of assets, such as stocks and shares, property and bonds, that should help beat inflation in the long-term.

The second is the tax relief, at 20pc or 40pc whichever is your higher rate of income tax. So for every €100 you contribute, the real cost to you is only €80 or €60. There’s also the tax relief on the investment gains as well as the cash lump sum you can take when you retire.

You should be aiming for your pension to be worth at least twice the value of your home when you retire, according to Mark Reilly of Royal London. “€500,000 sounds like a big fund, but it might only provide you with an income of just over €1,100 a month for the rest of your life after you retire at age 60,” he says. So paying into your pension as a long-term inflation-buster is hard to beat.

You can also make additional voluntary contributions (AVC) to your pension fund that allow you to take full advantage of the tax relief.

3. Overpay your mortgage

Paying more into your mortgage may also have a lot to be said for it, as it could cut your mortgage term and save you thousands, but it’s worth taking advice on this if you’re not sure.

“We would advise any mortgage holder to give careful consideration as to whether they have access to a rainy-day emergency fund before using all savings to reduce their mortgage amount,” says Joey Sheahan of broker MyMortgages.ie and author of The Mortgage Coach. If you do have a sufficient rainy-day fund, then go for it but do run the figures past your lender or broker first, he says.

“If you had, say, a mortgage of €300,000 at 3pc interest over 30 years, you could save €5,200 by paying off a lump sum of €10,000, €10,400 by paying off a lump sum of €20,000, or €15,600 by paying off a lump sum of €30,000. Alternatively, by overpaying €100 a month, you could save nearly €20,000 over term of mortgage, and nearly €35,000 by overpaying €200 monthly.”

However, at least one advisor believes overpaying your mortgage shouldn’t be top of your list of inflation-beaters. “As an ‘investment’ option, it is overrated, oversubscribed to and under-delivers on value,” said Conway.

4. Pay down debt

At the same time as accumulating savings, more people have been using their extra cash to reduce debt, but the rate of household debt hasn’t been falling as sharply as the savings pile has been growing. Furthermore, the number of borrowers taking out personal insolvency arrangements (PIAs) hasn’t fallen much.

So if you have any ‘bad’ debt (i.e. consumer debt such as credit cards and personal loans that do little to improve your financial outcomes), using your savings to pay these higher-interest debts off is highly recommended.

Rank these debts starting with the most expensive (i.e. with the highest interest rates) and clear these first.

It is essential to check that there are no penalties for paying early. PCP car loans, because of the way they are structured, may not be a candidate for early repayment.

If your credit card bill is larger than your fund, an option is to transfer to a provider like An Post Money, who give you 12 months to repay at a zero interest rate.

5. Spend it on a big ticket item

If you already have a decent rainy-day fund, you’ve no bad debt, your mortgage interest is reasonable (if not, switch), and you’re happy with your current level of pension contributions, then of course treat yourself to a big-ticket item. If your hopes of splashing out on a summer 2021 holiday were dashed by the Delta variant, there’s always summer 2022. But if you’re happy to spend now, you can still be sensible about it.

For instance, buying a new car – particularly if it’s an EV (electric vehicle) – may be a better bet than a nearly new or a 3-5 year old model because used car prices here have stiffened considerably thanks mainly to Brexit putting a dampener on used car imports from the UK, where a lot of the best value used to be found. You will have to pay far more for a used car than you would have this time last year, and this is good news if you have a not-too-ancient car to trade in (unless it’s on a PCP deal).

Alternatively, if your home’s BER (Building Energy Efficiency) rating could be improved, spending money on a retrofit that improves your home’s energy efficiency is a great way to spend on a big-ticket item that will ultimately improve your financial outcomes – ie increase the market value of your home and save on energy bills. The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland provides grants that will subsidise up to 35pc of the cost of a retrofit, which could include measures like external wall insulation, new glazing, solar panels and air to water heat pumps. That said, the cost to the average household of bringing up their home to a B2 rating is €30,000-€40,000, leaving you with a final bill of around €26,000, so you may need to borrow a little.

If you do, there are a couple of schemes that can manage the whole process for you, including the finance and the project management. One of them is ProEnergy Homes, run by the Credit Union Development Association in partnership with SEAI and Retrofit Energy Ireland.

Source: https://www.msn.com/en-ie/money/other/how-to-help-your-money-beat-inflation/ar-AAMhaeR

I was left a house by my godmother who died last Christmas. She was my mother’s best friend, but we weren’t related by blood. My mother was very ill during my childhood and she took me in for a few years. She never married or had children herself and, in turn, I cared for her in her final years. I didn’t ask for the house, or put her under any duress for it. I say this only to stress the close relationship we had. I now discover to my horror that I am expected to pay an enormous tax bill on the house, far more than if I was her daughter or niece. Can this be fair?

Fair or not, you are caught by the rules surrounding inheritance taxes which place a far higher monetary value on blood relationships than friendships.

The maximum tax free amount that you can generally receive from a disponer (the person who died) who is not a linear relative is €16,250, under Group C thresholds relating to Capital Acquisitions Tax (CAT), with the remainder taxed at 33pc. This includes any other gifts received during their lifetime.

It’s a common issue, but not to be glib about it, you have a wonderful bequest left to you which I’m sure is welcome.

You don’t say how much the property is worth, but you will be required to have it valued at market rates and calculate the tax accordingly.

This may unfortunately involve selling it in order to meet the bill, although it may well be possible to get a mortgage on it, which would be less than you would have to borrow to buy it outright. I don’t know your age or circumstances, but a bank would certainly be open to that sort of arrangement.

I don’t know about your current living arrangements, but this bill may have a possible mitigation.

You say you were your godmother’s carer. If you lived with her as such, you may be able to claim Dwelling House Relief against the tax due. The conditions are strict, however, so I don’t want to get your hopes up:

The house must have been your only or main home for the three years before the date of the inheritance, and you must not own or have an interest in any other house.

The exemption will be withdrawn, even at a later date, if you sell the house and don’t replace it with another principal dwelling, or cease to occupy it, within six years.

If you believe you could be exempt from it would be worth getting in touch with a solicitor or tax advisor to make sure the requirements are all met and they can go about settling the paperwork involved.

Q I am married and my spouse and I are both healthcare workers, with three children aged 16, 13 and 10. My husband is 64, I’m 44.

We’ve been to few banks and inquired about applying for mortgage, but were only offered a very small amount and for a short term due to my husband’s age. We’ve been renting and paying nearly €2,000 a month for a three-bedroom house excluding bills. We are getting worried that the rent may increase again.

Do you know if there’s any other option for us or any recommendations that you can share?

Banks generally don’t like borrowers who are nearing retirement age and tend only to permit mortgages (or indeed loans of any kind) to 65, or 70 at a push with Bank of Ireland. The credit union may well offer you a loan and be a little more flexible. It’s certainly worth a meeting; many of the larger ones are now offering mortgages, but honestly, I think it’s probably a long shot.

I asked Joey Sheahan, Head of Credit at MyMortgages.ie and author of The Mortgage Coach to look at your query and she said: “Some banks will allow a married person to apply on their own despite being married. The benefit of this is that you can avail of the longer term mortgage, to the age of 70.

“So, in your case, this would be a 26-year term mortgage. The downside is that you can only use your own salary and borrow 3.5 times that amount. If you are a civil servant, then you potentially can move two points up on the pay scale and borrow 3.5 the increased salary amount.

“Sole applicants can also benefit where a spouse has an adverse credit rating or is not a first time buyer”.

The best of luck with mortgage hunting. A call to a mortgage broker may help ease your path.

Source: https://www.independent.ie/life/home-garden/homes/i-am-facing-an-enormous-tax-bill-on-a-house-i-inherited-from-my-godmother-what-are-my-options-40604412.html

Source: https://www.irishexaminer.com/business/economy/arid-40324541.html

The latest move means mortgage offerings here are finally starting to resemble those in the likes of Spain and France

Spanish-owned mortgage provider Avant Money has upped the ante on its rivals by offering a range of new long-term fixed rates.

The provider is the first here to offer a 30-year fixed rate, in a move that has the potential to transform the mortgage market.

This means repayments will be the same every month for the life of the loan.

Its new continental-style offerings, for between 15 and 30 years, have rates as low as 2.25pc.

The suite of new long-term fixed rates from Avant Money comes weeks after non-bank lender Finance Ireland surprised the market when it launched an innovative 20-year mortgage.

Long-term fixes are a feature of mortgages on the continent, where rates from around 2pc are common.

The latest moves mean mortgage offerings here are finally starting to resemble those in the likes of Spain and France, despite the imminent departure of Ulster Bank and KBC.

Wholesale interest rates are at historic lows, with homeowners here mainly taking out fixed rates over increasingly longer period.

This means long-term fixed rates are starting to attract interest from borrowers here.

Now Avant Money has launched 15-, 20-, 25- and 30-year mortgages. The rates vary depending on the amount being borrowed relative to the value of the home, but are lower than those offered on most shorter-term home loans.

A rate of 2.85pc will apply for those borrowing over 30 years who are borrowing 60pc or less of the value of the home.

For those with a loan-to-value of 80pc the rate rises to 3.1pc. For those borrowing over 15 years, with a loan-to-value of 60pc, the new rate is 2.25pc.

Avant Money, owned by Spain’s Bankinter, shook up the market here last September when it launched offering the lowest rates. Its lowest rate is 1.95pc, considerably cheaper than its rivals.

The new products will have flexibilities built in. Avant Money will allow borrowers to overpay up to 10pc.

There will be a cap on the fees for redeeming the mortgage, and flexible options if moving home. Those moving will be able to port the existing mortgage to a new home.

Loans can be repayable up to the age of 70.

Switchers and movers are expected to be the most likely to take up the new products, but first-time buyers with big deposits may also find the certainty of a long-term fix attractive.

Head of mortgages for Avant Money Brian Lande said the new offers would allow Irish consumers the opportunity to lock into fixed rates for their full mortgage term at a time when interest rates are at a historical low.

“I’m also delighted to confirm that we will be extending these new flexible features to all of our existing and new customers across our product range,” he said.

In May, Avant Money cut a number of its rates, and launched four- and 10-year fixed rates, which are the lowest in the market.

This is in addition to having the lowest rate of 1.95pc for those whose mortgages are 60pc or less of the value of their homes.

Its aggressive pricing will be a relief to buyers and switchers as Ireland continues to have some of the most expensive mortgages in the Eurozone.

With the imminent departure of Ulster Bank and KBC, Avant Money is aiming to become the fourth largest provider of mortgages here after AIB, Bank of Ireland and Permanent TSB.

Source: https://www.independent.ie/business/personal-finance/property-mortgages/spanish-bank-to-shake-up-mortgage-market-here-with-30-year-fixed-rate-loans-40552755.html

Joey Sheahan, Head of Credit and Author of The Mortgage Coach, MyMortgages.ie

“ This is great news for mortgage holders in Ireland. Not only does a 30 year fixed term offer the promise of a guaranteed level of mortgage repayments over the long term for those mortgage holders who opt for it, it also represents a step in the right direction for the Irish mortgage market. We are catching up with our European counterparts when it comes to fixed rates – and overall better value on rates.

Other lenders will now find themselves under pressure to develop and offer better mortgage products so as to remain competitive.

Mortgage holders may well be confused or unsure as to whether a long term fixed rate is the best route for them, so we are urging anyone considering their options to contact a broker who can take an overall assessment of their individual situation and advise them as to the best course of action”. 

Two major mortgage lenders have already reached the limit of how many exemptions to the Central Bank’s mortgage rules they are allowed to offer in a year.

Lenders are allowed to offer more than the strict rules of 3.5 times income and allow less than 20% in a proportion of their loans over a year. It means PTSB and KBC can no longer offer borrowers the mortgage exemptions that allow for loans over the threshold.  

Banks and other lenders have the freedom to lend a certain amount above these limits. In any one calendar year they can give an allowance of up to 5% of the value of mortgages to first-time buyers and up to 20% of the value of mortgages to second and subsequent buyers, and up to 10% of the value of mortgages to buy-to-let buyers.

Both lenders Permanent TSB and KBC, which recently announced it was leaving the Irish market, have used up the exemptions from the rule limiting the amount they can borrow relative to their incomes.

Many first-time buyers need an exemption to the loan-to-income rule, especially in cities where property prices are higher.

PTSB and KBC’s ending of exemptions comes as the Central Bank said it was holding ‘listening and engagement events’ next month as part of a review of the lending limits. The review will look at the effectiveness of rules and whether they have achieved their aims.

Association of Irish Mortgage Advisors chairman Trevor Grant said yesterday: ‘While this might seem like a blow to first-time buyers, we are advising people not to be disheartened; there are still a number of lenders offering exemptions, and this cycle will correct itself later in the year.

‘It does, however, highlight the importance of the mortgage application process itself and of ensuring that all the boxes are ticked when it comes to approaching a lender for approval.

‘When trying to secure a mortgage, it is imperative that applicants know exactly what lenders are looking for and how to present their particular case to them.’

Mortgage brokers have been flooded with calls from worried first-time mortgage applicants hoping to secure a home-loan.

Joey Sheahan, of MyMortgages.ie, said: ‘Our advice to all has been not to panic.

‘There are still four banks open to exemptions for first-time buyers – Haven, ICS, Finance Ireland, Ulster Bank – while PTSB has not closed off the option for second-plus-time-buyers. We are however, suggesting to those who are mortgage ready, not to delay.

The mortgage market is in a state of flux, as we have seen over the last few months with news of lenders leaving.

‘There has been good news too – most recently from Finance Ireland in relation to its longterm fixed rates.

‘All in all, there are still several banks very much open to new business, so those looking for a mortgage should continue as planned – a very many will be successful.

Source: evoke.ie/2021/05/26/evoke/blow-for-first-time-buyers-as-two-major-banks-cut-off-mortgage-exemptions

The maximum term of 20 years is twice as long as currently available to Irish mortgage customers.