Mortgage rules to be reviewed this summer

The new governor of the Central Bank has said controversial mortgage rules, which particularly affect first time buyers, will be reviewed this summer.

Professor Philip Lane has said that the regulations - which require a 10% deposit from first time buyers - will be reviewed when a full year of data is available.

The controversial mortgage regulations, introduced last September, have had a particular impact on first time buyers - they require a 10% deposit, which can be quite a substantial amount, particularly in the Dublin market.

The Finance Minister Michael Noonan has already called on the bank to review the regulations - saying they were brought in to dampen down the market, but the situation has changed since then.

However, Professor Lane has told the Irish Times that not all of these changes are a result of the regulations - and the shift from buying to renting, as well as an increase in commuter belt house prices, was expected.

Professor Lane has said a review will take place when a full year of data is available - meaning any potential changes will not happen until the Autumn, at the earliest.

However, Karl Deeter of Irish Mortgage Brokers has said the Central Bank may not make any changes to the rules when it carries out its assessment.

But he says they have had an impact on the housing crisis: “If you to someone three and a half times their income at a time of very low interest rates, at a time of rising rents and high tax, then really what you are doing is forcing them to stay in the rented sector.

“That has caused as a knock on effect, more people competing for rental properties, rental prices go up, investors are getting out of the sector, creates more scarcity, they got rid of bedsits that creates more homelessness because the low end of the market is compressed.”