Slowdown in house price inflation is good news for buyers in Co Sligo
Strong remortgaging and firsttime buyer activity suggests that gross mortgage lending is on track to grow 20pc in 2018, according to Dermot O’Leary, chief economist at Goodbody.
Commenting on the latest quarterly mortgage figures from the Banking and Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI), Mr O’Leary said that the growth in remortgaging was the “standout feature” in a solid three months for mortgage lending growth.
“Growth in this sector is a function of growing competition in the mortgage market and rising levels of equity due to the rise in house prices,” he said.
“It is likely to remain an important feature in the coming quarters and keep an ongoing focus on mortgage rates in Ireland.”
During the three months to 30 June there were 1,304 re-mortgage loans to the value of €298m, reflecting year-on- year growth of 95.5pc in volume and 93.5pc in value.
Overall, and a total of 9,339 new mortgages to the value of €2bn were drawn down by borrowers during the second quarter of 2018, according to the BPFI. This represents a 17pc increase in volume and a 22pc increase in value of mortgages on the same three month period in 2017.
First-time buyers remain the single largest segment by volume (48.69pc) and by value (48.8pc).
Mortgage activity on new property grew significantly faster than activity on secondhand property, according to the BPFI, with the number of mortgages on new properties rising by 29.5pc year-on-year to 2,296, while the number on secondhand properties rose by only 1.9pc to 5,085.
And the good news for those buying in Sligo is that prices in the county remain among the lowest in the country.
According to the latest figures from DAFT.ie, the average price for a house in Sligo is €142,000, just €10,000 above prices in Leitrim, which are the lowest in the country. And according to property price analyst Ronan Lyons, house price inflation nationally is slowing down.
The reason for this, he says, is that house supply is slowly coming on stream - slowing down price inflation.
“The total number of homes available to buy on the market, excluding Dublin, reached a low of 16,800 in March this year - down from a high of almost 57,000 in mid-2009.
“There has been a jump in availability in the last three months, 16,800 to 18,800,” said Lyons, adding: “But it is too early to tell if that is just seasonal or the start of a trend.”