Mortgages.ie - Mortgages and Mortgage Protection Insurance

Early indications for 2011 are that buyers are coming back to the market .We have seen the largest level of consumer interest in mortgages since 2002,

There may be further to go in house price reductions but with many properties priced at 50% below peak buyers are once again weighing up their options and considering entering the market.

• The stamp duty reductions appear to be acting as a catalyst for movers and this will feed down into greater options for first time buyers.
• Whilst first time buyers now have to pay 1% stamp duty they have the benefit of massive property price falls to compensate.
• The Finance Act and 4 year plan has created a degree of certainty and will facilitate financial planning

We estimate that house prices dropped by around 20% last year and this compares to some reports indicating that price drops were around 15%.

The key to mortgage approval is as follows;

• Secure permanent employment
• Savings equal to 10% of the purchase price
• Clear evidence through rent or savings that you can afford the proposed mortgage
• A clean credit record

Banks have reduced the amount they are lending to buyers.This will quickly bring prices down to realistic levels and market equilibrium may be reached with a further drop of between 7.5% and 10% in the coming year.

Buyers should think in terms of borrowing capacity 4.5 gross income where salary is less than 40 k and 4.75 time sincome when over 40k