Ireland continues to have the highest average interest rate across the euro zone for all new mortgages at 3.21%, new figures for May from the Central Bank show.
The rates varied considerably across countries, with the average for the euro area standing at 1.8% and mortgage rates in Finland of just 0.80%, the Central Bank said.
The bank today also reported a 33% year-on-year increase in new mortgage agreements in the 12 months to May.
The volume of new mortgages amounted to €681m in May, bringing new mortgage loans to €7.22 billion over the past 12 months.
Today's figures show that fixed rate mortgages accounted for 54% of new loans over the three months to May.
This compared with 80% of new agreements over the same time in the euro zone.
Meanwhile, interest rates on term deposits remained low in May at 0.06%. This compared with the euro zone equivalent of 0.36%.
