By Ted Healy of DNG TED HEALY

So it looks as though mortgage rates in Ireland have hit rock bottom with inevitable rate increases in the post.

Some 200,000 homeowners are on Standard Variable Rates and are set to pay more with rates across Europe expected to rise in the coming months.

Around 250,000 are on trackers, which rise or fall when the ECB rate changes. An increase of about 25 basis points (one quarter percent) is expected. This means that monthly repayments would increase by about €40 on a €300,000 mortgage.

The European Central Bank (ECB) president Christine Lagarde recently refused to rule out an ECB rate rise – a move that would see tracker and variable rates rise, and new fixed rates become more expensive.

The Dutch Central Bank president and a member of the ECB’s governing council, Klaas Knot, said he expects the ECB to raise interest rates in the fourth quarter of this year. He expects an interest rate rise of 0.25% between October and year’s end.

So does this mean now is the time to lock into a longer-term fixed rate? There are some very attractive fixed rate terms available in the market at present, which in five year's time will very likely look like great value.

NOT ALL BAD NEWS

It is not all bad news however. Surging house prices over the last two years mean that thousands of homeowners are now unexpectedly eligible for lower mortgage rates.

With the sudden rise in property values in recent times, there are now opportunities for anyone coming out of a fixed term period to take advantage of lower loan-to-value mortgage rates which could make significant savings over the life of the mortgage.

Mortgage interest rates get a lot more competitive at 80% loan-to-value as banks tier their rates based on this calculation.

With double-digit property inflation in the past few years, coupled with some of the loan having been paid off, anyone who took out a mortgage in 2019 or 2020 with an original loan-to-value of 90% should be at 80% loan-to-value now.

A loan-to-value of 80% means a homeowner has built up equity of 20% in their home and can now benefit from a more competitive rate.

There are still over 200,000 Irish households repaying their mortgage on Standard Variable Rates of up to 4.5%. The average new mortgage rate in Ireland at the end of last year was 2.79%. However, in 2019 the average rate was just over 3%.

There are certainly savings to be had by switching mortgages – especially for those coming out of a fixed term where their loan-to-value ratio has decreased over the past few years.