No changes to Central Bank’s mortgage rules

The Central Bank has today left its key rules on mortgage lending unchanged and also extended its relaxation of certain regulations on bank reserves into next year.

The current Central Bank rules restrict the loan to value limits on a mortgage to between 70% and 90% of the value of a property and varies depending on whether the borrower is a first time buyer or some trading up. 

The loan to income rule is three and a half times salary, but there is some leeway for banks to go above these limits. 

The Central Bank has noted a recent recovery in mortgage demand, but overall in the year to October mortgage lending is down 18% over the same period last year. 

Central Bank Governor Gabriel Makhlouf said bad debts have begun to appear across households and businesses and he warned that the shock from Covid-19 “hasn’t played out completely.”  

Read full article: RTE.ie