Thousands of mortgage-holders coming off fixed rates this year face significant hikes in their monthly repayments.
They have been warned not to wait until the fixed-rate period is up and to examine their options now.
Many of the 70,000 homeowners coming to the end of their fixed rates are likely to face an increase in repayments of around €2,000 a year, brokers say.
This is because many of them would have fixed in the last few years when rates were typically just over 2pc before they started moving up sharply.
Many of those will end up having to accept a new fixed rate of more than 4pc, which would mean monthly payments rising by as much as €170. Those with non-bank lenders will roll to variable rates as high as 6pc.
Banks and non-bank lenders are required by Central Bank regulations to give customers details of the new variable rate to which they will default and outline the current fixed-rates options.
Broker Michael Dowling, of Dowling Financial in Dublin, said those coming to the end of a fixed rate would get a letter from their lender six weeks in advance, outlining their options if they chose to stay with that lender.
He advised those coming off a fixed rate to opt for their lender’s variable rate because European interest rates are expected to fall this year.
Not all of the reductions in European Central Bank rates would be passed on to borrowers in the form of lower new fixed rates and lower variable rates, but some of it would be, Mr Dowling said.
He added that most lenders now had variable rates of between 3.75pc and 4.75pc.
“Look at staying on variable for now and then lock in to a fixed rate later,” he said. “There is no cost going from a variable to a fixed, but there is a penalty going from a fixed to a variable. Lock into a fixed when the time is right.”
The best three-year fixed at the moment was 3.85pc from Avant Money, Mr Dowling said.
Borrowers facing steep rises in repayments should consider switching to another lender if their own lender would not offer them good value, said Martina Hennessy, the managing director of broker Doddl.ie.
She said five lenders were now offering cash incentives to get mortgage-holders to switch.
Green mortgage rates as low as 3.65pc for three years were also available from AIB’s Haven and from Bank of Ireland, she added.
Ms Hennessy said it could be a while before banks passed on any reductions in rates to borrowers once the ECB moved. For this reason, anyone who can get a good three-year fixed rate should take it and then forget about it.
Ms Hennessy said the perceived barriers to switching a mortgage had reduced, with five lenders now offering switcher-incentive packages.
“There are now five mortgage lenders in the Irish market who pay cashback to mortgage switchers of up to 2pc of the mortgage at time of switching – including new entrant MoCo,” she said.
“Those lenders with the most competitive rates have copper-fastened their offering with a switcher package that covers any switching costs.”
They had also reduced the documentation required for mortgage switchers, making the process easier, Ms Hennessy said.
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