Commenting on recent Central Bank figures indicating a growth in net lending for mortgages, Brokers Ireland said such figures indicate the state of banking rather than charting what is actually happening with consumers.
Rachel McGovern, Director of Financial Services at the organisation which represents 1,250 broker firms, said the Banking and Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI ) figures for quarter three 2018 showed actual mortgage drawdowns, as opposed to approvals, at 8,727 for the quarter, to a value of €1,985 million, bringing lending for house purchases to €5,093 million for the first nine months of 2018.
“This would indicate that while the situation with mortgages is steadily improving it is still a long way off what could be considered the norm and on that basis we can expect that mortgage lending for house purchases will come in way under the €10 billion figure for the year.
“This level of lending is something that would have been considered the norm before we had the level of pent up demand we currently have, which is keeping many young people in enforced rental situations at a time when it would be far cheaper to service a mortgage.
“We need more supply of suitable homes, including social and affordable homes,” the Director commented.
