NEW MORTGAGE RULES
The Central Bank’s much debated and often bemoaned stricter mortgage rules were finally officially announced last month and officially put into place only last week.
Under these new tighter guidelines first time buyers appear to have business as usual as they can continue to apply for a 90% mortgage up to a limit of €220,000. Anything above this limit will be subjected to the new 20% deposit requirement. Given that the average house price in Dublin is approximately €269,000 (according to latest published results from myhome.ie) it would seem unlikely that many buyers will escape the clutches of this requirement entirely.
Those looking to trade up on their existing homes will be entirely subjected to the 20% requirement for the entire sum of their loan which has caused concerns that many young couples and families may find themselves ‘locked out’ of the property market or, having already taken a step onto the first rung of the property ladder in easier financial climates, may find it impossible to take the next step, or fall off completely.
There will also now be a cap on the amount that can be loaned, something that banks and mortgage lenders previously had left to their own discretion. This sees lenders being restricted to only borrowing 3.5 times their income. Given that there is massive disparity between wage scales across various sectors, this rule would seem to leave those in lower earning sectors out in the cold.
It was reported last week that banks have been urging mortgage defaulters to seek a familial ‘dig out’ to help them meet their mortgage repayments. These new tightened mortgage rules could now see buyers returning to the ‘bank of Mum and Dad’ model of purchasing in order to meet the deposit demand. It was recently reported that the Credit Union will be willing to allow parents to borrow significant amounts to assist with their children’s deposit as the prospective buyer themselves would be unable to take out a loan.
As the Capital Acquisitions Tax on gifts currently allows an un-taxed amount up to €225,000 we may well expect to see these rules also tightened. As it stands, without the addition of a parental gift the average couple can expect to be saving for at least four years to meet their deposit requirements for first time buying, whilst those trading up may well be reliant on these so-called ‘dig outs’ when they have outgrown their current dwelling.
