Share of mortgages in arrears drops to lowest level since 2009

The share of mortgages that are in arrears over 90 days fell to its lowest level since 2009 in March, according to the Central Bank. Around 25,880 or 3.7% of principal dwelling house accounts outstanding were in arrears over 90 days at the end of the first quarter, and 75% of those accounts were held by non-banks. In annual terms, the number of mortgages in arrears over 90 days fell 10%, and the number of accounts in arrears overall fell 5%, continuing the trend started at the tail-end of 2023. The number of accounts in long-term arrears of greater than a year was 18,767 or 2.7% of all mortgages, down 1,491 or 7.4% from March 2024. The number of accounts in early arrears of less than 90 days fell by 4,399 or 23% year-on-year. Of all pricipal dwelling house accounts in arrears, 4,655 or 12% are currently part of a legal process, and a quarter (24%) of those have been in the legal system for more than five years. At end-March, non-bank entities held 17% of all mortgage accounts and 84% of all PDH accounts in arrears over one year. There were 696,538 private residential mortgage accounts for principal dwellings in Ireland with a value of €104bn, of which 40,332 were in arrears, down 2,052 or 5% over the quarter. Donal Magee, senior underwriter at Núa Money, said the decline in mortgages in arrears is positive but noted that there's "still a significant cohort of borrowers that are ‘stuck’ and unable to move to a cheaper lender or to clear their mortgage and ultimately own their own home.  "These borrowers would typically have restructured their mortgages after running into problems repaying their loan following the financial crash of 2008 or indeed as a result of another event which led to a reversal in their financial fortunes. The share of mortgages in arrears more than 90 days is at its lowest level since 2009. "Today’s report shows that 51,695 home loans are currently restructured and many of these are split mortgage arrangements, where part of the loan is warehoused. "While most of these borrowers have been able to meet the terms of their restructured arrangement and are not in arrears, many have run into difficulties switching their mortgage as the main banks generally won’t consider switching applications from those with a split mortgage arrangement. "Many are also unclear about if and how they could clear their mortgage."

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