Mortgage top-ups to buy luxury items amounted to €5.5bn at height of boom

At the peak of the boom, €5.5bn of mortgage top-up loans were drawn down annually to fund luxury purchases and home extensions, according to research by the Central Bank.

As part of the Central Bank’s letter series, the bank has analysed the number of people applying for top-up mortgages or releasing equity built up in their homes, in a study entitled Housing equity withdrawal in Ireland: 2000 – 2011.

The research found that the value of equity release borrowing has collapsed in the last few years.