Number of mortgages in arrears continues to decline

The level of owner-occupier and buy-to-let mortgage arrears in Ireland continues to decline.

Figures from the Department of Finance show the number of owner-occupier mortgage accounts classified as in arrears of at least one day fell by 2,487 to 89,476 in December.

On the buy-to-let side, the number of accounts that were behind with their payments fell by 1,409 and now stands at 29,953.

The number of private-dwelling accounts in arrears of greater than 90 days or more fell by 1,930 to 62,266 in December.

According to the data, the number of these accounts with arrears of 90 days or more that have not been restructured had fallen by 30 per cent when compared with August 2013, when the department’s data series began.

Engagement between consumers and lenders has resulted in an increase of 1,916 permanent mortgage restructures in December, the department said.

There was also a rise in the number of split mortgages at the end of December with 20,525 in place, an increase of 835 on the previous month.

Split mortgages involve part of the loan being warehoused for repayment at a later date, while the borrower meets agreed payments on the other portion of the mortgage.

The most common form of restructuring is arrears capitalisation with 26,787 cases in place at the end of December.

In terms of temporary restructures, interest only was used in 6,814 cases, albeit this represented a decline on the number recorded at the end of the previous.

The figures are based on data from the State’s six main mortgage providers, which between them represent about 90 per cent of the mortgage market.

The number of buy-to-let accounts in arrears of greater than 90 days fell by 1,466 to 24,448.

In the month of December, engagement between consumers and lenders led to an increase of 80 accounts permanently restructured, which now stands at 18,303 accounts.