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FOR THE FIRST time since the Central Bank began taking records four years ago, the number of mortgage accounts in arrears has fallen.
The latest data for the third quarter of 2013 shows that owners of 141,520 principal dwelling houses (PDH) had fallen behind in their home loan payments.
That is a decrease of 1,372 properties and a 0.5 per cent decline on the outstanding balance on all main-home mortgages.
However, the Central Bank warned that the drop masks divergent trends between short-term and longer-term arrears.
Although arrears declined significantly, extremely long-term arrears continued to rise.
The number of accounts in arrears for more than 90 days at the end of September had risen to 99,189. The increase of 1,315 was driven entirely by accounts that are behind by over 720 days. All other maturity categories declined.
The 720-day category now accounts for 22.5 per cent of all accounts in arrears. The value of accounts in arrears of more than 360 days also remains large and currently sits at €12 billion.
Restructuring
The number of PDH accounts in early arrears of less than 90 days declined by six per cent during the third quarter, compared to a decrease of 3.3 per cent in the previous three-month period.
By the end of September, a total of 80,555 accounts were classified as restructured with almost 80 per cent deemed to be meeting the terms of the new arrangements – although this does not necessarily equate to long term, sustainable solutions.
Forbearance techniques have included a switch to interest-only mortgages, a reduction in the payment amount, a temporary deferral of payment, extending the term of the mortgage and capitalising arrears amounts and related interest.
There were also a small number of modification options such as split and trade-down mortgages which were introduced to provide more long-term solutions for customers in difficulty.
Buy-to-let homes
A jump in the number of buy-to-let mortgages that have fallen behind in their payments was also attributed to longer-term arrears. The total number in arrears was 40,426 – more than a quarter of total stock – but the category of arrears up to 180 days declined.
Of the 40,426, more than 31,000 were in arrears for more than three months.
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Can’t swing a cat these days for all the green shoots of recovery around the place!
*No cats have been swung in completion of this post.
Lots of little steps….
The drop has nothing to do with the governments economic performance kevin/vinvent. People bothering to read the article will see that it is due to a large number of restructuring arrangements between lenders and mortgage holders, 80% of which are having their new terms met.
Serious kudos to the government for making this happen, well done Enda yet again :)
Nothing to do with the fact that forced evictions and repossessions are increasing?
Ya have to hand it thejournal/daft.ie. They like a good dishonest spin.
The truth is that there was a massive 59% increase in mortgages in arrears over 720 days for Q3 year over year. This should be the headline but property pumping and keeping people’s head in the sand is in the interest of daft inc.
Reposession rate is .7% per quarter, in other words a joke john.
That great news John I’m all for that the more the better people have money and are willing to buy- get it moving I say
Are you including the 570 workers who will be losing their jobs in the pharmaceutical industry in that – I think they will have less money after all is said and done. Will they be buying houses?
Banks cooking their books again by harassing people into capitalising their arrears into their mortgages thus being forced into paying them over the remaining 20-30 years of the mortgage PLUS INTEREST!
WHAT A SCAM!!!
HALF OF HOMELOANS ARE ON TRACKERS!!!
THE ECB IS VIRTUALLY ZERO!!!
YET THERE ARE STILL A STEADY FLOW OF HOMELOANS GOING INTO ARREARS!!!!!
NO AMOUNT OF CREATIVE (COUGH COUGH) JOURNALISM WILL MAKE THAT FACT GO AWAY!!!!!!!!
GET THE MESSAGE!!!!!!!!!!!
Sorry Kevin, we are not over the worst of this crisis yet, green shoots while people struggling?
It’s all fur coat and no knickers…..
You’re not really sorry, Pat are you? You’d be devastated if the corner continued to progress and God forbid the fodder for your daily whining dried up, wouldn’t you? I mean, what would you do then? You’d have to give credit where it’s due and perhaps give credence to the idea that you’re not all knowing? Heaven forbid.
Country, not corner
Kevin, your logic is completely warped and twisted. Why would I or any sane person seemingly rejoice at the hardship that people are going through? That is just insane.
You think I would be devastated if we could get people back to work in real jobs? That pay enough to take them off support?
You think I’d be devastated if the Social Welfare bill decreased?
You think I would be devastated if people could provide a decent standard of life for their families?
You want to give credit to the fact that over 100k families are in massive mortgage arrears?
Seriously?
Wake up Kevin – come on down off that cloud and join the real world………..
The number of distressed mortgages is falling but the amount of mortgage debt at default risk is increasing.
Dr Constantin Gurgiev reported (in July) that although the number of distressed mortgages decreased marginally earlier this year, the total amount of mortgage debt in default risk stood at €46.618 billion or 33.35% of the total mortgages pool – an increase from €42.258 billion at the same period last year.
Wonder how things will look when interest rates rise?
Many people on trackers only surviving because of that – a 1% increase will be the difference between able to pay and not able to pay………….
Well its a good thing it went down then, isn’t it?
What’s good about it Big Pat?
That people can afford their mortgages!
Theyve been well down for around 5 years now.
Eh, that was my point – many who can afford them are only doing so because of tracker rates – once they start rising we will see the next mortgage crisis emerging……
Well they could afford it for the years before the crash.
I seriously worry for the families who only have their head above the water due to rates being through the floor as a result of an economic meltdown!
Yes they could because their incomes weren’t slashed thru cuts and tax hikes. Add in property tax, impending water charges, higher costs of living and then a rise in interest rates?
We need growth.
You can forget all the spin and bluster until the economy grows and not by .5% or 1% – but 2% or 3% – then and only then will that be a recovery……….
Lads, lads, lads… You should have all learned by now that the only way to approach good news on The Journal is to express cynicism and doubt. It doesn’t matter if you don’t fully understand economics because nobody else on The Journal comment section does either. Just throw in a few rants about the bondholders and the banks and the EU and you’ll be grand sure. You’ll be absolutely swimming in the green thumbs so you will! Watch and learn:
This is all bullsh*t. Sure that Edna Kennings chap is a right awful eejit altogether! Him and Fianna Gale are a right shower of gombeens and don’t even get me started on Labor. What they should really do is leave the EU and tell the Austrian Prime Minister Angie Merkel to go and shove it! They should track down and burn all of the bondholders by throwing petrol bombs at them. It’s the only way. Also, how can mortgage arrears be falling if I’m still working in a minimum wage job? It just doesn’t make sense lads.
Feel good after that you do. I’m alright Jack attitude.
I smell bull-shit.
Great work by the government in stabilising the economy :)
it has nothing to do with the government or the economy. Its due to a large number of restructuring arangements being agreed between lenders and rtoubled mortgage holders, 80% of which are having their improved terms met.
Relying on people not actually reading the article kenneth? Tisk tisk. You can smell the desperation.
Correct … Under instruction from the government as they passed this in law. Well done to the government yet again fantastic work :)
The government passed it into law and made it happen well done Enda :)
Link to the law please…
I’m not sure the exact name but it was the personal solvency bill or something similar- hope that helps :)
Thought so. All mouth no trousers.
Interesting turn of phrase, Sean.
the paranoia is kicking in…time for the men in the white coats….Again!
Where’s the nearest mental hospital to Dundalk?
Is this the new legislation you are referring to Kenneth.
“The safeguards for hard pressed consumers who have fallen into arrears and are trying to sort those arrears out have been reduced even further by the new revisions. Lenders will control how they deal with arrears more than they ever did before. It is likely to result in borrowers in arrears coming under considerable pressure to accept whatever alternative offer is made to them by their lender, if one is made to them at all.”
Free Legal Advice Centre.
Even if all this good news is nonsense can’t we all just accept it over xmas. They’ll be loads of time for moaning in the new year.
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