New figures from rating agency Moody's show that the percentage of Irish home mortgages in arrears increased again in November.
In its latest report, Moody's says that the rate of mortgage more than 90 days in arreas hit 3.3% - the first time the rate has exceeded 3% since the agency began monitoring the area in 2004.
It also says the 360+ days figure more than tripled in November compared with the same time the previous year to stand at 0.8%.
Moody's says its outlook for the residential mortgage-backed securities sector is negative. It said that weak demand and an oversupply of property in many areas suggest house prices will continue to fall this year.
Figures from the Financial Regulator in December showed that mortgage lenders held a total of 331 repossessed homes by the end of September. 110 properties were repossessed in the three months from June to September.
The Financial Regulator also said that 26,271 mortgage accounts, or 3.3% of the country's total mortgages, were in arrears for more than three months. This means that the percentage of households falling into arrears has more than doubled in the last 15 months. Of these 17,767, or 2.2%, were more than six months in arrears.
€4.8 billion was owed in relation to all accounts more than three months in arrears and €3.2 billion was owned in respect of accounts more than six months in arrears.
