Avant Money introduced their Flex Mortgage Product in March, a variable rate benchmarked to the 12-month Euribor rate.
While the Flex Mortgage may be new to the Irish market, Avant Money’s parent Bankinter have successfully offered this type of product for over 10 years in Portugal, Spain and Luxembourg.
Avant’s latest benchmark rate (from 10th May to 9th June 2025) is 2.14% with margins of 0.9% or 1.1% applying depending on your loan to value. This brings their Flex Mortgage rate to 3.04% or 3.24% which is by far the lowest variable rate available on the market.
This product is available to both purchasers and switchers.
So what is Avant Moneys Flex Mortgage Product?
- The Flex Mortgage product is a Variable rate benchmarked to the 12-month Euribor rate.
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- Benchmark – just means a fixed margin to the Euribor rate (<=80% LTV margin is 0.9%, >80% margin is 1.1%)
- Euribor rate – this is the Euro Interbank offer rate, or the rate at which banks borrow funds from each other. Banks either fund their mortgage lending by using deposits they hold from customers or by going to the money markets to borrow from each other or a combination of both.
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- The margin is fixed throughout the term of the mortgage provided you remain on the Flex rate, if you move off Flex onto fixed you do not get the margin back again
- How does it compare to other variable rates – The Flex Mortgage Rate is currently the lowest variable rate on the market (May 2025). The other types of variable rates re standard variable rates (or loan to value variable rates which are generally a discount off standard variable). Standard variable rates are set based on a lenders own cost and general market forces and a fairly standard variable rate in Ireland would be 4.15%. As such you can see that the flex mortgage product at 3.04% or 3.24% is very attractive
- The rate you get is the rate at time of draw down – this is important – variable rates can change and the rate you get is always the rate at draw down. The Euribor rate changes daily but Avant take an average Euribor rate in the month and update their Euribor base rate on 10th of every month
- The rate at draw down is set for 12 months and you will be notified prior to the anniversary of your mortgage each year as to what the Euribor rate at that date will apply to your mortgage for the next year – you can choose to stay on your Flex Mortgage rate of opt to fix then or at any time.
- No cashback with this rate (1% cashback is available on Avant’s fixed rates)
- The lowest level this rate can go to is 0% plus your margin, even if the Euribor rate went to negative your rate will be 0% plus margin
What’s different about Avant’s Flex Mortgage Product?
Benefits of the Flex Mortgage Rate –
- Variable rate so you can overpay as you choose
- A level of certainly combined with a variable rate – repayments remain the same for 12 months
- Transparency – with standard variable rates you never know what the rate is based on and they generally do not decrease much (last 18 months they have remained the same yet funding costs have decreased). The 12-month Euribor rate is published so you can see exactly what the rate is based on and what the Euribor rate is – see ECB website https://data.ecb.europa.eu/data/datasets/FM/FM.M.U2.EUR.RT.MM.EURIBOR1YD_.HSTA
Could the rate go up –
- Yes as with all variable rates the rate can go up or down (but not within the 12 months your rate is set for), so at the next anniversary the rate could be higher or lower and also by the time you draw down your mortgage the rate as set out in your loan offer from Avant could go up or down.
This new variable rate will be attractive to the Irish consumer – Why?
The Flex Mortgage product comes at a good time as the numbers choosing variable rates has increased.
Demand for variable rates increased in the latter months of 2023 and into 2024 as the perception was that rates were at their peak and cuts were expected. Over 20% of new mortgage lending was drawn down on variable rates in 2024 versus less than10% in 2022 and preceding years.
As rates have decreased over the last eighteen months, confidence has built that rates may continue to fall, or at least, should not rise in the short term.
The introduction of this flex mortgage rate is well timed by Avant, the Euribor rate is trending low so as a product it can be priced competitively plus there is an increasing appetite for variable rates.
Want more information on Avant’s Flex Mortgage product?
As with all mortgage products it is so important that you get advice to assess whether this product is suitable to your needs.
Avant’s Flex Mortgage Product is available via doddl and select brokers – for more information contact our team – Start Here!
Flex Mortgage Rates from 10th May 2025 to 9th June 2025
| Loan to Value (LTV) | Interest Rate | APRC | Cost Per €1000* |
| <= 80% | Mortgage Interest Rate: 3.04%
Benchmark Rate 2.14% plus Margin of 0.90%
|
3.11% | €5.57 |
| >80% | Mortgage Interest Rate: 3.24%
Benchmark Rate 2.14% plus Margin of 1.10% |
3.31% | €5.67 |
*Illustrative monthly cost per €1,000 borrowed based on a 20-year term
Rates correct as at 06/05 and available from dates noted.
WARNING: Your home is at risk if you do not keep up payments on a mortgage or any other loan secured on it.
Mortgage Horizons Limited trading as doddl is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland.
