Mortgage arrears slow ahead of ECB rate cut despite cost pressures

Early mortgage arrears crept up by 1%

Brokers Ireland chief executive Diarmuid Kelly indicated the cause of slowdown is likely due to households prioritising their mortgage payments over other expenses and some are 'often eating into savings to do so'.  Picture: Steve Parsons/PA Wire

Mortgage arrears slowed ahead of the first interest rate cut announced by the European Central Bank (ECB) last month, but figures suggested cost pressures continue to burden some households.

By the end of March, Central Bank figures showed there were 703,308 private residential mortgage accounts in the Republic and 47,620 of these homes were in arrears.