Sellers slam ‘crude’ Central Bank home loan rules

Auctioneers have said that “crude” Central Bank mortgage rules are inflicting hardship on young prospective buyers, saying the cap on income is responsible for a large drop in home loan lending.

The claim comes as figures published yesterday showed the banks issued on average only 2,531 mortgages per month over the three months to the end of November.

Banking & Payments Federation Ireland – the industry group for the lenders – said that number of approvals had dropped 8% in the year.