‘Buy-to-lets will dampen recovery’

As the Government seeks to turbo-charge the recovery in the Irish property market, ratings agency Fitch is predicting that the arrears crisis will continue to grow as the buy-to-let sector fuels defaults and depresses prices outside of Dublin.

In a research note, the agency said it was expecting to see more robust action from the banks since the removal of the protection of the Justice Dunne ruling which had prohibited banks from foreclosing on properties.

Managing director at Fitch’s structured finance team, Andrew Currie, said it expects to see a rise in repossessions as arrears continue to reach new highs.