The proportion of mortgages at least three months in arrears has fallen to its lowest level since the depths of the financial crisis 15 years ago, the Central Bank said on Friday.
About 4 per cent of all home loans in the State were more than 90 days behind on their payments at the end of September, according to the regulator’s latest mortgage arrears and repossessions data. That is the lowest rate since 2009, it added.
Overall, there were 27,745 mortgages on family homes that were more than three months behind on repayments. That was down 452 on the previous quarter.
“In annual terms, the number of primary dwelling home accounts in arrears over 90 days fell by 4 per cent, primarily driven by a reduction in the number of accounts in arrears [of] between five and 10 years,” the Central Bank said in a statement.
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The number of mortgages on family homes in long-term arrears – at least one year behind in payments – stood at 19,693 at the end of September, accounting for 2.8 per cent of all principal dwelling house mortgages. That is down by more than 1,200 on the same time last year.
The decline in arrears comes at a time when housing affordability and borrowers’ capacity to meet mortgage repayments is back in focus. A Banking & Payments Federation of Ireland report published on Friday showed first-time buyers are typically paying €88,000 more for a house now than they did five years ago.
Separately, the ESRI, warned earlier this month that house prices are about 10 per cent over valued. The think tank said during the summer the number of borrowers in “highly leveraged positions” had increased while the mortgage market was now back to multiples “only previously seen at the peak of the Celtic Tiger”.
The vast majority of mortgages more than 90 days in arrears are now held by so-called non-banks. That comes after years of traditional lenders selling portfolios of soured loans to investment funds and other buyers.
Of the mortgage on family homes that are in arrears, 4,834 – or 11 per cent – are currently part of a legal process, with almost one in four of those having been in the legal process for over five years.
Overall there were 699,384 private residential mortgage for people’s main homes held in the State, with a total value of €102.3 billion.
Arrears are much higher among buy-to-let mortgages, with 14 per cent of the 56,579 loans behind on payments – one in seven of all such loans. However, arrears in this category are also falling.
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