Mortgage rates fall to their lowest level in nine months after new drop in May

It was the second month in a row of lower home-loan rates and means they are now at their lowest level in nine months, according to the latest data from the Central Bank of Ireland.

At 4.17pc, the average interest rate on a new mortgage in Ireland decreased by 0.07 percentage points compared with April. This comes on top of a similar drop in April.

Despite the fall, Ireland still had the joint sixth highest rates in the Eurozone.

The Eurozone average remained broadly steady at 3.80pc.

However, rates varied hugely across the currency bloc from as low as 1.97pc in Malta to as high as 5.97pc in Latvia.

Lenders including AIB, Haven, EBS, Bank of Ireland, PTSB and Avant Money all cut their rates in anticipation of last month’s reduction in European Central Bank (ECB) rates.

Head of communications at mortgage broker Bonkers.ie Daragh Cassidy said it was expected that the average interest rate would ease again in May.

“And it should creep slightly lower over the coming months as the rate…