European Central Bank meeting tomorrow will set the stage for the first rate hike in a decade

Existing and potential homeowners looking at fixed rates over fears of interest rate rises

A case that came before the Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman found that a customer had been wrongly denied a tracker rate on his mortgage

The rise in inflation is hitting consumers hard, with cost-of-living increases being felt across the board, especially in fuel prices, home heating, and basic food items

Long-term fixed mortgage rates have only become available in Ireland since October from Avant Money and Finance Ireland

Soaring house prices in the past two years mean thousands of recent homebuyers are unexpectedly eligible for lower mortgage rates, it has been claimed.

Economist Jim Power said there will need to be 40,000 new houses on the market every year for the next few years

Buying your first home can be both an exciting and stressful time in your life.

A relaxation of limits on a mortgage to rent scheme for people in arrears will see more individuals and families being able to stay in their homes. The State scheme has been expanded to allow more people to use it.

— and Derry Girls star, Jamie-Lee O'Donnell, as a prison officer in Screw; plus negative equity and mortgages discussed on How to be Good with Money

The CCPC is involved in an unprecedented activity into Irish banks after both Ulster, the No 3 general lender, and KBC, a significant mortgage bank, announced plans to exit Ireland

The ECB action will help ensure that the borrowing costs for Irish households remain unchanged at low levels for some time to come

The Central Bank said there is still a heavy dependency in the sector on unsecured personal lending

It had been expected permissions would have increased significantly this year, given the country was in lockdown over long periods in 2020

They also control over two-thirds of all the home mortgage accounts in arrears for over one year

Tough competition between UK lenders had brought the effective rate on new mortgage lending down to around 1.6% in October

The Government is being urged to make the bad deal customers are getting from home loans, and cash-back mortgages in particular, the focus of a pending year-long review into the troubled state of Irish banking.

AIB has also said it has appointed Jim Pettigrew as its new chair of the board

Davy said €11.4bn in mortgage approvals in the 12 months to August 21 could result in only €8.4bn worth of drawdowns.

Portugal and Finland charge the lowest mortgage rates, at just 0.8% and 0.71% respectively

Under the new 'land value sharing' initiative, the State will secure a portion of the increase in market value of land after rezoning

The latest figures mean that 53,511 residential mortgages were approved in the 12 months to the end of July. 

The report also refers to "large numbers of properties" owned by “cuckoo funds” which have been the beneficiaries of generous tax treatment from the State

This is an increase of €657 over the past 12 months with a monthly saving of up to €135 for every €100,000 owed on a 25-year mortgage for those who do switch

DBRS said AIB had net loans in the Republic of €48.6bn, of which €17.4bn were loans to corporates and SMEs

Finance Ireland — the lender that started selling residential mortgages less than three years ago — said it aims to grow "significantly" to win as much as 15% of the home-loans market, as it launched a 20-year, fixed-rate mortgage for the first time.

Other types of housing costs have continued to fall in that period, according to the latest Consumer Price Index. 

A senior mortgage broker said borrowers will not have the time to apply for a mortgage break on an individual basis

Mortgage approvals hit record high levels in November, up 24% on the previous year, as applicants who had delayed buying decisions entered the market.

Prices already increased by 6% in the last year, with analysts expecting this trend to continue in the coming year. 

For those thinking of buying a home the advice is to get started on the preparation work for a mortgage application at the earliest opportunity

Homeowners are paying more than €4,000 in extra mortgage repayments per year by not switching lenders, research has revealed. The gap between the highest and lowest rates on the market is now at a five-year record.

Broker says the best way to encourage switching is to cut the "excessively complex" process that requires the same amount of documentation to change lenders as it does to secure a mortgage from scratch

Figures for mortgage approvals the month of September increased by more than 20% compared to September 2019

A mortgage applicant trying to streamline the process in his favour made “a stupid and illegal error” by altering a P60 and found himself prosecuted for the fraudulent action yesterday.

KBC was the second bank to be fined for its part in the industry tracker mortgage scandal, with the regulator last week turning up the heat in condemning the lender in no uncertain terms.

The August loan approvals amounted to €946m, up sharply in the month, but down from August 2019

The Central Bank has fined KBC Bank Ireland over €18. 3m for its part in the industry-wide tracker mortgage scandal after the lender's “deeply unsatisfactory” response only served to increase the financial harm inflicted on customers.

The official launch by new mortgage entrant Avant Money of a fixed-term mortgage below 2% for second-time buyers or switchers shows that Irish lenders can make money by cutting home loan rates, a leading broker has said.

A new entrant has entered the Irish mortgage market offering interest rates as low as 1. 95%. Avant Money, confirmed its new mortgage products are now available to Irish customers.

Mortgages approved in July 2020 were valued at €811m

New chief executive Eamonn Crowley played down suggestions that the Irish banking industry was heading for its second arrears crisis in under a decade

House buyers are being urged to shop around and seek specialist advice before choosing a lender

More families renting rather than owning their own homes, and more co-living, people living in independent apartments, and more open to alternative financing models