Mortgage rates fall but are still seventh highest in Eurozone

The average rate on new mortgages in the market is now 4.24pc, according to the latest data from the Central Bank of Ireland.

The rate decreased for the first time since December and was down 0.07 percentage points compared with March.

This country now has the seventh highest rates in the Eurozone, according to the research which looks at rates across the bloc. The Eurozone average fell for the fifth month in a row to 3.81pc.

However, rates varied hugely across the currency bloc from as low as 2pc in Malta to as high as 6.23pc in Latvia.

Last week the European Central Bank (ECB) cut its main interest rates, a move that will directly benefit 180,000 tracker mortgage holders.

Finance Ireland and ICS/Dilosk responded to the ECB reduction by both cutting their variable rates.

However, the two lenders have had some of the higher mortgage rates in the market with rates as high as 7.15pc.

And in the past few weeks there have been cuts in fixed and variables by AIB, Haven, EBS, Bank of Ireland, PTSB and Avant Money.

Daragh Cassidy at mortgage broker Bonkers.ie said: “As expected the average interest rate fell in April from the previous month’s record high.

“And the rate should creep slightly lower over the coming months as the rate reductions that have been introduced by several lenders recently feed through into the figures.”

Mr Cassidy said the average first-time buyer can get a fixed rate of under 4pc with PTSB and Bank of Ireland.

“And of course if the ECB cuts rates again over the coming months, which it probably will do at least once, that will hopefully put further downward pressure on mortgage rates.”

Some 70,000 homeowners are coming off fixed rates this year.

Mr Cassidy said that regardless of how quickly, or by how much, rates fall later this year, the tens of thousands of mortgage holders on fixed rates which are due to come to an end over the next few months still need to be preparing for potentially higher repayments.

Many mortgage holders who took out a fixed rate over the past three or four years may be enjoying rates as low as 2pc or 3pc at present.

But they will still be faced with much higher rollover rates when they look to re-fix over the coming months, he said.

Last week, it emerged that Taoiseach Simon Harris is to seek a meeting with the heads of all Irish banks where he plans to insist on ECB rate reductions being passed on “without delay” on new fixed and on variable rates.

In the past few days the chief economist of the European Central Bank, Irishman Philip Lane, said future ECB rate cuts will depend on how fast inflation comes down in the Eurozone.

Inflation is slowing faster than expected, with the figure for May likely to be 2.6pc in the euro area, he said.

Mr Lane says he thinks more interest rate cuts will happen, following last week’s cut of 0.25 points by the ECB.

“If we see progress, then we will continue to bring down the level…and eventually normalise rates. If we don’t see progress, then we will go more slowly,” he said.