The Central Bank reports that in October, mortgage rates in Ireland decreased below the average for the eurozone.
Mortgage rates increased across the rest of the single currency area as a result of the European Central Bank’s decision to combat soaring inflation by raising interest rates from 0% to 2%.
In October, the average interest rate for a new mortgage in Ireland decreased slightly to 2.57%.
Ireland currently has the euro zone’s fifth-lowest mortgage rates, trailing only Germany, Finland, and Austria.
The major Irish banks initially took their time passing along rate increases, but AIB was the first to act in October when it increased all of its fixed rates by 0.5 percentage points. At the end of November, the biggest lender in the nation raised all of its fixed rates by an additional 0.5 percentage points.
Owners of tracker mortgages will probably notice an increase in their payments in December when the ECB is expected to increase its main lending rate from 2% to at least 2.50%.