Around 600,000 homeowners are bracing themselves for mortgage hikes with European Central Bank rates almost certain to rise this week.
Around 600,000 homeowners are bracing themselves for mortgage hikes with European Central Bank rates almost certain to rise this week.
ECB president Jean-Claude Trichet strongly hinted that a rise was due this Thursday when he said the bank was in "strong vigilance mode", a phrase he has ued in the past to signal an interest rate hike.
A rise of 0.25pc is widely expected, which would add €15 a month to a €100,000 mortgage.
It means someone with a mortgage of €300,000 would see their monthly payments rise by €45 a month.
More than half of the 780,000 mortgage holders have a tracker mortgage which follows the ECB rates with another 250,000 or so on standard variable deals.
The hike will also cause increased pain for buy-to-let customers on tracker or standard variable rates.
According to figures released by the Irish Central Bank last week, a quarter of all Irish mortgages are buy-to-let and many will struggle to increase rent to match the increasing mortgages.
The ECB's uses the interest rate to control inflation across the eurozone.
Trichet is under pressure as figures showed German inflation was 2.3pc in June, well above where the ECB would like to see it.
