The level of mortgage drawdowns is now at its highest since the boomtime of the Celtic Tiger era. Close to 53,000 mortgages were drawn down last year, with a value of more than €14bn, according to the Banking and Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI). This is the highest number and value of mortgage drawdowns since 2008, the peak of the boom that ended in a property price crash. The number of new mortgages is up 21pc […]
Bank of Ireland said today it will increase interest rates for a number of mortgage and deposit products. It said this follows increases of 2.5% in European Central Bank rates since July of last year. The bank has announced a 0.75% increase for fixed rates on new mortgages – effective from today. It also announced a 0.5% increase for the fixed rates available to existing mortgage customers. This includes customers who are coming to the […]
The main banks here say they will all be passing today’s ECB interest rate hike on to tracker mortgage customers, but variable and fixed rate borrowers will be spared for now. There are around 200,000 tracker mortgages remaining in the country, while there are 130,000 people whose loans are on variable rates. In a statement, Bank of Ireland said its tracker rates will increase by the 0.5% announced by the ECB at lunchtime. “For most customers, this […]
THE European Central Bank announced another hike in its key interest rates in a move that will pile more pain on those with trackers and variable rates. The move is expected to hit those whose mortgages have been sold to vulture funds hardest as they are stuck on variable rates that are the highest in the country. The main refinancing rate of the European Central Bank (ECB), which is directly linked to the interest rate […]
House prices could fall 12pc by the end of the decade if the Government was to meet its housing target and build 35,000 homes a year. To achieve it would require more public money, higher numbers of foreign construction workers and more domestic workers moving from commercial to residential projects, a report by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) said. “The issue is we do need to increase and find these workers,” said ESRI […]
A grant of up to a maximum of €30,000 will be available for the refurbishment of vacant properties for occupation as a principal private residence, including the conversion of a property which has not been used as residential heretofore. This will be subject to upper limits for the types of work specified below having regard to a reasonable cost assessment by the local authority. The grant is inclusive of VAT cost of the works. Where […]
The Government of Ireland (Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage), in partnership with Participating Lenders, has introduced a Shared Equity Scheme to help you bridge the gap between your deposit and mortgage, and the price of your new home.
Who can claim the Help to Buy (HTB) incentive? To claim HTB, you must: be a first-time buyer buy or build a new property between 19 July 2016 and 31 December 2021 live in the property as your main home for five years after you buy or build it be tax compliant, if you are self-assessed you must also have tax clearance. To qualify, you must not have previously bought or built a house or apartment, […]