Slight decrease in mortgage arrears in first quarter [Video]

The number of home mortgages in arrears over 90 days fell by 2% in the first quarter of the year, according to data from the Central Bank of Ireland.

The decrease was driven by a fall in long-term arrears between two and five years, while mortgages in arrears for over one year fell by 8% to 20,258. However, there was a slight increase in new arrears (under 90 days) up by 1% on the last quarter, but was down 3% on the same period in 2023.

There were 703,308 private residential mortgage accounts recorded at the end of March, worth around €101bn, with a total of 47,620 of these considered to be in arrears.

A total of 55,533 home mortgages were said to be ‘restructured’, representing 8% of all outstanding residential mortgages.

This number has been on a long-term decline, shedding 2,330 accounts over the last quarter, with 80% of these restructured mortgages not currently in arrears and …