Irish mortgage rates have skyrocketed to their highest levels since mid-2017, data from the Central Bank of Ireland show.
It said it jumped from 3.63 per cent in April to 3.84 per cent in May but is expected to continue to rise over the coming months. But despite the high mortgage rate, Ireland’s is the sixth lowest in the Eurozone. It comes as homeowners with a tracker, variable rates, and fixed rate plans are being urged to assess their options.
Rates rose in all Eurozone countries except in Malta – which has the lowest rate across Europe.
The average mortgage rate in the Eurozone is 3.70 per cent which is almost three times higher than what it was two years ago.
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Daragh Cassidy, Head of Communications at mortgage broker bonkers.ie says: “These figures are unsurprising given the big increases in mortgage rates that have been announced over the past few months.”
“However our mortgage rates are still among the lowest in the Eurozone. For now at least.
“This is because the main banks have been so slow at passing on the full brunt of the ECB rate increases to their mortgage customers.
“Since last July, the ECB has hiked rates by four percentage points. With another 0.25 percentage point hike likely to come when the ECB meets again near the end of the month.
“However, the main banks have only hiked their fixed rates by around 1.5 to two percentage points on average. And variable rates have only gone up by around one percentage point at AIB and PTSB, and they haven’t moved at all at Bank of Ireland.
“However this ‘generosity’ has largely come at the expense of savers.
Savings rates in Ireland are still poor. The best rate from the Irish banks is just 2 per cent from AIB. And BOI and PTSB only pay a maximum of 1.5 per cent. However,
deposit rates over 3.60 per cent are now available from some banks in Europe.
“In essence, savers are subsidising mortgage holders. Whether that’s right will differ vastly depending on whether you talk to a mortgage holder or someone with big savings of course.”
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