Dublin: The Banking and Payments Federation of Ireland (BPFI) reports that higher interest rates are not ‘daunting’ home buyers. The report also says that mortgage takers have recorded a record amount of borrowing. Since 2020, the total number of mortgage applicants has been declining. This increase in loan amount, however, is very noticeable.
House prices in the country have decreased slightly. Perhaps the decline is encouraging first-time buyers to own a home, even with more credit, observers say.
According to the central bank’s mortgage lending rules, a maximum of €2,84,500 can be borrowed to buy a house worth €316,000. The BPFI report revealed that mortgages reached €2,84,397 in the second quarter of this year, the highest level since 2003.
Mortgage borrowing is slowing after 2020. However, borrowing by first-time buyers remains strong, the report notes. The report also observes that people switching loans to better deals in anticipation of a rise in interest rates has led to a reduction in mortgage take-up.
The mortgage market is strong.
Brian Hayes, head of the BPFI, said the report shows the mortgage market remains strong. There were 9,896 new mortgages worth €2.8 billion in the second quarter of the year. Mortgages, on the other hand, were down 17.4%.
The report also said that there was a slight decrease in the number of first-time buyers. The loan volume decreased by 63.8%. Almost 82% of new properties were home mortgage drawdowns, and 70% were second-hand properties, the highest level since data collection began, the report said.
Price of houses
Based on the report, house prices in the country have risen by an average of 2.4% over the past 12 months, with house prices in Dublin falling by 0.4%. There were 4,435 sales in May this year.
Purchases increased by 19% compared to May of last year. Last year, there were 3,730 purchases, a 14% increase across the country. Dublin house prices increased by 12%. 60.3% of mortgage buyers were first-time borrowers, and their loan-to-value increased by 61.5%, the report said.
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