The average interest rate on new Irish mortgages moved below the euro area average for the first time since 2017, new figures from the Central Bank show today.
The average interest rate on new mortgages at the end of October decreased by one basis point to 2.57% from September while the equivalent euro area average rose by 25 basis points to 2.65%.
Ireland now has the fifth cheapest mortgage rates in the euro zone, behind countries such as Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and Finland, which until recently had the lowest rates in the euro zone at under 1%.
But households in some of these countries tend to take out much longer-term fixed rates compared to Irish households - of up to 20 years or more - which usually have higher rates.
France once again had the lowest average mortgage rate in the euro zone at 1.81% while Latvia had the highest rate at 4.31%.
Daragh Cassidy, head of communications at Bonkers.ie, said that October is likely to mark the lowest point in the current mortgage rate cycle for Ireland for years to come.
"When mortgage figures for November and December are released in the New Year, they're likely to show that the average rate has risen close to 3% or more. And the average rate will likely hit over 4% by the end of 2023," he said.
The three main banks - AIB,Bank of Ireland and Permanent TSB - all recently raised their fixed
mortgage rates.
With the ECB almost guaranteed to increase rates by another 0.5% when it meets tomorrow, more hikes from all lenders are likely to follow over the coming weeks.
Today's Central Bank figures show that the average interest rate on new fixed rate mortgage agreements, which make up 92% of the total new mortgage agreements, was 2.46% in October.
This was unchanged from September and 15 basis points lower on an annual basis.
Today's figures show that the total volume of pure new mortgage agreements amounted to €1.096 billion in October, relatively unchanged on the previous month.
But in annual terms this marked an increase of 39.6%, the bank added.
Meanwhile, the Central Bank said the interest rate on new consumer loans rose by 22 basis points to 7.78% in October.
The total volume of new consumer loans was €163m in October, an increase of 23.5% on the same time last year.
This was unchanged from September and 15 basis points lower on an annual basis.
Today's figures show that the total volume of pure new mortgage agreements amounted to €1.096 billion in October, relatively unchanged on the previous month.
But in annual terms this marked an increase of 39.6%, the bank added.
Meanwhile, the Central Bank said the interest rate on new consumer loans rose by 22 basis points to 7.78% in October.
The total volume of new consumer loans was €163m in October, an increase of 23.5% on the same time last year.
