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THE PROPORTION OF Irish mortgages tracked by ratings agency Fitch in arrears of three months or more has reached a new peak.
A report on the mortgage market by Fitch shows that among the mortgages that the agency tracks, the proportion in long term difficulty increased to 18.4 per cent in the first quarter of 2014.
This is only a minor increase of 0.1 per cent on the last quarter of 2013, but a climb of 1.7 per cent when compared to the full year statistics for last year.
Fitch tracks several portfolios which contain more buy-to-let loans than the market average, suggesting that the arrears issue is more apparent in the this section of the market.
Analyst Sanja Paic told TheJournal.ie that there may be more arrears in the pipeline, especially among buy-to-let properties.
Fitch said that the main driver for the large proportion of arrears remains the huge drop in income levels compared to the heavy burden imposed by the size of mortgages taken on during the economic boom.
Dublin price slowdown on the horizon
The recent growth in house prices in Dublin is unlikely to be a long term feature of the housing market, the agency said.
“The recent growth in house prices in Dublin, although unlikely to persist in the long run, is putting pressure on affordability.”
This trend is expected to be short term and is unlikely to reach levels seen at the peak of the market.
Analysts warned, however, that there needed to be more supply on the market in order to keep a lid on house prices.
Solutions expected to increase
The report’s authors say that they expect to see more restructuring, mortgage write downs and enforcements as a result of revisions to the code of conduct on mortgage arrears last summer.
The revisions allow banks more leeway in dealing with non co-operative borrowers.
Fitch analyst Ketan Thaker said that he expects repossessions to rise, but over a long period with no immediate uptick in prospect.
Pressure from the Central Bank on banks to find sustainable soluitions for mortgage holders makes more debt write downs appear “inevitable”, the report finds.
Fitch is forecasting GDP growth of 1.6 per cent for 2014, improving to 2.2 per cent in 2015, with unemployment set to fall to 11.8 per cent this year and 11.4 per cent by the end of next year.
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Is this a wind up ?
On the other hand I’d love to have the money to buy it
Just like and share to be in with a chance to win one.
Not for me.
I couldn’t tell my boss I was late because of my watch.
Don’t see any reason there to pay 1.1m for a watch, save the money and ask someone the time, or if you can pay that type of cash for a watch why the fu*k would you care what time it is
I honestly think a finely made watch is beautiful. I feel naked if I don’t wear one on a night out. I think a watch and ring is the only jewellery a man should wear. I do have a watch fetish but have never spent any more that 500 euro on one. Any more is just silly. But sure if you are loaded why not.
I agree family guy, I wear my watch all the time and feel naked without it.
Does it have a calculator though?
And all it does is tell the time
does it have a sexy voice..??
Ill have 2
One for each wrist?
Oh yeh. I’ll be unbalanced if i don’t
Another upstart of a company.
Established no doubt, to separate new money easterners from their cash.
Well if they’re foolish with their dollars.
Maybe they deserve to be shafted.
Your a boor.
Fact are booring.
My auld Casio will do me. Best 15euro I ever spent.
I’d rather have a Veyron.
But not the cost of running it. They would financially cripple you, which is why the vast majority of those on the market have hardly been driven.
You think the running cost is why the majority of veyrons are not driven in public…?
Skin, no, not the sole reason but almost certainly a contributory factor.
Four sprung durch technik?
Time is your worst enemy, why would you pay 1.1 Million, for a watch, and half the world’s Children starving, it beggers belief.
300 watches = 1 children’s hospital
But you can’t wear the other 299 watches on your arm now can you.
Do the ladies really judge a fella by the piece on his wrist?!
To spend that much on a watch you’d have to have a piece for a head…
It’s not what’s on his wrist that they care about, it’s the distance from the wrist to the tip of the middle finger. So shallow…
I’ve got 200 of these unwrapped which can’t be sold. Like and share to be in with a chance to win one :)
Well it would also have to bring me my tea and toast up to the bed in the morning as well if I paid that price for it!!!!!!
Does it only work when tethered to an iPhone 6?
what is a power reserve function? and how is it powered?
Looks like the strap is extra!
If I could afford this I would care what time it was
Saw a watch that cost $350,000 in a shop the other day. It’s made from authentic pieces salvaged from the Titanic! Some people…
Watch yourself….
have your say