Average Irish Mortgage Interest rates are double the Eurozone average.
Central Bank figures show the rate was 2.76% in Ireland in January, compared to 1.31% in the Euro area.
There has been a fall in the number of first time buyers opting for variable rate mortgages.
Analysis by Bonkers.ie suggests they are opting for more expensive long term fixed rates, due to recent speculation the European Central Bank could start increasing rates.
Darragh Cassidy from the website tried to explain the change and said:
"Mortgage rates have been falling slowly but steadily in Ireland over the past several years. And they continue to fall - for now at least. Today’s news that the average rate has increased suggests more first-time buyers might be opting for longer-term, more expensive fixed rates than previously. This would be unsurprising as there has been talk in recent months of the ECB starting to increase rates.
"The rapid rise in property prices might also be having an effect.
"Lenders price their mortgage rates based on how much equity someone has in their home or the size of the deposit they have in relation to the loan. This is usually referred to as the loan-to-value (LTV) ratio. The bigger the deposit a homebuyer has the better the rate they’ll be offered by most lenders.
"However rapidly rising property prices mean buyers who previously may have been able to avail of a cheaper rate for those with an LTV below 80% are now being pushed into a higher LTV band instead."
