Trevor Grant, Chairperson, Association of Irish Mortgage Advisors (AIMA) “The average increase in mortgage repayments of €110 and €150 per month largely represents the necessary growth in the mortgage size needed to buy a property in the current market. If house prices increase by 10%, so too does the mortgage required to buy that home.
There’s an assumption that, just like back in the Celtic Tiger days, everyone wants to borrow the maximum amount they can. This report shows that not to be the case – borrowers these days are far more prudent. Indeed, lending criteria and macro prudential rules ensure that borrowers can only borrow what they can comfortably afford to repay. No-one want homeowners to be under financial strain. People should be able to enjoy their lives and not be a slave to their mortgage.
The overall mortgage market will continue to perform strongly into 2023, largely driven by switching, which, as mortgage rates continue to rise, is likely to balloon in the coming months, with existing borrowers look to reprice to avoid as much of the rate increases as possible.
Switching has been gathering pace for some time now and is already up 140% so far this year. It’s important now that all mortgage customers review their rates, including those on tracker deals, as well as those on existing fixed rate agreements with a relatively short period to run on them.
We anticipate further ECB rate hikes in the coming months so for mortgage holders looking to negate the financial impact of this, the window to switch is limited”.
