Mortgage rates have reduced quite significantly over the last 2 years with the average new mortgage rate at 3.66%.
Yet the spread of rates across the market is huge, starting at 2.98% and rising to over 6.15%.
September Switchers – Still time to save big in 2025
Summer is over, the kids are back to school and many of us are reviewing our finances and planning for Christmas.
After the summer madness of camps and holidays and the additional cost of getting school ready for September now is the time to revisit your finances and finish 2025 with savings.
For most families their mortgage is their largest financial commitment so it’s the one we need to pay special attention to.
There is still time to review rates and complete your mortgage switch before December.
The positive news is that more people are switching.
Latest BPFI figures show a surge in mortgage switching with a 67% year on year increase in mortgage switching approval volumes and over 90% in value.
Why are more people switching their mortgage?
Mortgage interest rates are currently the lowest they have been in two years.
The latest doddl.ie Mortgage Switching Index shows that based on an average mortgage of €346,842 you could save up to €7,505 per annum by switching your mortgage.
Recent property price inflation means that homeowners now have more equity built up in their home which allows them to unlock lower interest rates.
A homeowner who purchased their home just over 12 months ago with a 10% deposit, should now be at 80% loan to value, a level at which many rates drop by 0.5%.
Many homeowners are unlocking the value in their home by topping up their mortgage to carry out home improvements.
If the works result in a more favourable building energy rating this may also result in a lower ‘Green’ interest rate.
Switching has also become a lot easier with reduced document requirements and cashback offers from seven lenders some up to 2% of the mortgage back in cash. If your mortgage is €350,000 you could get €7,000 cashback with costs of c. €2,000 for legal and valuation.
What about home movers?
September is a time of year when you will traditionally find more homes coming to the market. Summer fun is over and people get serious about selling their home.
Selling your current home and buying a new home can be a little chicken and egg. You wont want to put your own home on the market until you have a home you want to buy.
However, in the current market where supply is low and you are competing against cash and chain free buyers you may end up being less attractive to an agent if you still have your home to sell.
Selling and buying involves a lot of planning, the key thing is to understand your budget. This will equate to the mortgage you can borrow plus the equity you have built up in the home you are selling plus any savings.
You then need to decide if you plan to sell and rent, noting the challenges of finding an affordable rental property or if you want to run a sale and purchase at the same time.
This latter option is difficult to do and you will need to ensure you have your own property ready for sale and hope that a selling agent will consider you a valid bidder pending sale of your current home.
You also need to ensure you have full mortgage approval and your solicitor ready to move on both transactions to sell and buy.
Need Mortgage Advice, our team are always on hand-> www.doddl.ie
