Tag Archives: homeowners

Plan to cut fuel excise duties to go before Dáil

It is expected that a proposal will go before the Dáil today that will cut fuel costs through a reduction in excise duties. The changes would then take effect from midnight if, as expected, the Dáil passes the financial resolution. Work was ongoing at the Department of Finance late last night on proposals to decrease…

Cost of living and price of housing identified as key challenges

The cost of living and the price of housing are the key issues facing the economy and people’s personal finances, according to a survey by Permanent TSB (PTSB). PTSB published the latest edition of its Reflecting Ireland research series on Friday. The series polls public attitudes each quarter and includes recurring questions about how people…

Housing supply falls to record low level – Sherry FitzGerald

New analysis shows that the country’s stock of houses available for sale is now at the lowest level on record. The analysis from Sherry FitzGerald shows there were only 14,400 second-hand properties listed for sale nationwide in January. The estate agents said this represents a 6.7% fall over the past twelve months, with over 1,000…

Credit unions want bigger chunk of mortgage market

The Irish League of Credit Unions has called on the Minister with Responsibility for Credit Unions, Sean Fleming, to make the necessary regulatory changes to enable credit unions to significantly increase their footprint in the mortgage market. In a statement, the Irish League of Credit Unions said credit unions would like to be in a…

Land deals of close to €650m struck in 2021 – report

Land deals to the value of €648 million were transacted in 2021, representing growth of 11% on the previous year, a report from property consultants Savills Ireland concluded. Demand for land in prime areas with planning permission in place was described as ‘very strong’, attracting significant bids. Sites without permission have also been performing well,…

Irish mortgage rates highest in euro zone again

Ireland once again has the highest mortgage interest rates in the euro zone, new figures from the Central Bank show. The average interest rate on new Irish mortgage agreements stood at 2.69% in December, compared to euro area average of 1.29%. Ireland is followed by Greece at 2.55% and Latvia at 2.26%. Finland has the…

Rents up over 10% in final quarter of last year, Daft report reveals

Rents nationally rose at an annual rate of just over 10% in the last three months of last year, according to listed rent prices compiled by the property website Daft.ie. On a quarterly basis, rents rose in the Dublin area by just over 4% compared to just 0.5% in Munster. This is a reversal of…

Personal loans for home improvements jump 25% in 2021

Over 43,000 personal loans for home improvements were drawn down last year, up almost 25% on the previous year. New figures from Banking and Payments Federation Ireland reveal that these loans were worth €462 million. The average home improvement loan was €9,748 in the final quarter of 2021, down from €10,899 on the fourth quarter…

Mortgage lending rules need to be amended, PII says

The design and calibration of the mortgage lending rules need to be amended, an organisation representing the property industry here has argued. Property Industry Ireland (PII) claimed the current measures are outdated and need to be changed to reflect buyers’ what a household can afford to spend, not what their income is. The argument is…

Number of mortgage drawdowns in 2021 hit 12 year high

Last year saw the highest number of mortgage drawdowns since 2009, worth a total value of €10.5 billion. 43,994 mortgages were drawn down in 2021, a 9.4% increase on the previous year. Figures from Banking and Payments Federation Ireland show the value of mortgage drawdowns last year was the highest since 2008, when the financial…