For most Irish households (57%) that have taken a financial hit as a result of COVID-19, it will take 6 months or more for their finances to recover.
This is according to a survey undertaken by mortgage brokers, MyMortgages.ie, who say that moves by some lenders to restrict the approvals has led to huge concern amongst mortgage applicants.
When asked whether they believed there would be any “bargains” to be had on the property market this year, 44% of the 150 respondents, all of whom had planned to apply for a mortgage of some description this year (First Time Buyer; Second Time Buyer; Switcher), said they believed there would be.
MyMortgages.ie say there has been a shifting in the credit policies of most lenders, and that they expect to see those changes impacting the market over the coming weeks.
Speaking of the findings, Head of Credit at MyMortgages.ie, Joey Sheahan said, "Some banks won’t consider any bonus payments, whereas others will allow up to 50% of bonus payments to be taken into account. So, for example, a borrower who earns €50,000 basic, with a €20,000 bonus, would qualify for loan amount of €175,000 with one bank (i.e. 3.5 x basic salary only), whereas that same borrower can qualify for €210,000 with another lender (i.e. basic plus half bonus = €60,000 x 3.5)."
Source: www.businessworld.ie