Key Post Mortgage Rates tables for all lenders

Brendan Burgess

Brendan Burgess

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When choosing a lender, it's important not to just pick the one with the lowest rate today.

I would recommend AIB or Avant as the lenders most likely to be the best value over the full term of your mortgage.

AIB has a long history of treating customers fairly when it comes to mortgage rates
  1. They allow existing customers to avail of the best rates offered to existing customers
  2. They have a comparatively low variable rate
  3. They do not engage in gimmicks to trick customers.
Avant has not been in Ireland for as long as AIB. However they shook up the Irish mortgage market by having rates much lower than the existing lenders when they arrived.
  1. I would expect their rates to be competitive over the longer term
  2. They cap the early repayment fee at 2%
  3. They allow 10% overpayment of a fixed rate each year without penalty.
You should also check if your Credit Union does mortgages. You will find a list of those who do here.


I would avoid Bank of Ireland and ptsb as they attract new customers with tricks but are likely to be poor value over the full term of your mortgage.

  1. They attract new customers with lower rates which they do not allow existing customers to avail of
  2. They keep their variable rates artificially high
    1. Many customers default to variable rates when their fixed rates end and don't do anything about it
    2. High variable rates mean you are forced to fix which means you are , in effect, forced to stay with them for another few years and stuck on a higher rate than new customers
  3. They engage in all sorts of gimmicks to trick customers
    1. For example, Bank of Ireland offers a green discount to new customers. But when the fixed rate period is up, you are an existing customer and no longer qualify for the green discount.
    2. Some of their rates for large mortgage apply to new mortgages only, so you get that rate only for the firs period of fixing.
  4. ptsb, in particular, has a long history of exploiting vulnerable customers and although you are in a good position now, you could be vulnerable at some stage over the next 20 years.
    1. They offered attractive looking "discounted trackers" to customers at a rate of 0.8% above the ECB rate for the first year. When the first year was up, they were put on ECB +3.25%.
    2. Customers who were entitled to trackers when fixed rates ended, were offered variable rates pitched just below the tracker rate. Most customers opted for these, little knowing that once they were off their trackers, ptsb hiked the variable rate.
    3. During the financial crisis, when AIB and BoI had a standard variable rate of 3% and 3.5% , ptsb were charging over 6% and most customers could not switch as the market had frozen.
    4. For a long time, ptsb did not even allow existing customers to fix at any rate, forcing them to pay high variable rates. And when they did introduced fixed rates for existing customers, they were substantially higher than the rates on offer to new customers.
If you take out a mortgage with ptsb you only have yourself to blame if you find yourself in a few years time paying a very high rate and unable to do anything about it.
 
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Some other useful sources of information

Key Post - First Time Buyer mortgage guide

Some tips and Frequently Asked Questions when applying for a mortgage as a first-time buyer (FTB)... Start by getting mortgage approval from the lender you bank with If you have your current account with Bank of Ireland, then apply directly to them for a mortgage. Assuming you have a good...
www.askaboutmoney.com

Key Post - The pros and cons of using a mortgage broker

90% of people do not need to use a mortgage broker and there is no benefit to them in using one. They can get the best deal by applying directly to the lenders themselves They can find the deal most suitable for themselves here or through doing their own research They are educated enough to...
www.askaboutmoney.com

Key Post - Preparing for a mortgage application

If you're considering applying for a mortgage in the future, there are some steps you should take now. If anyone wants to add to these, please do and they can be incorporated into the post. You are unlikely to get a mortgage if... You cannot show a history of being able to pay the proposed...
www.askaboutmoney.com

Key Post - A guide to mortgage repayment calculations

As always, comments, corrections and suggestions for layout very welcome - Brendan There have been a few questions on askaboutmoney which have been very difficult to answer without explaining the background to mortgage calculations. For example: Bank of Scotland offer to write off my...
www.askaboutmoney.com
 
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Avant - updated 15th July 2024


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Cashback of 1% for mortgages drawn down between 1 January 2025 and 31 December 2025
  1. You can overpay by 10% of the remaining balance each year without penalty
  2. The early redemption fee is capped at 2% of your remaining balance
  3. The early redemption fee can be waived if you move home and take out a new mortgage with Avant
  4. Avant pays switchers €1,500 towards the costs of switching
  5. The rate quoted in the loan offer is guaranteed for three months (Check : Does this apply just to switchers?)
Evaluation
Avant shook up the mortgage market in Ireland by offering lower rates than the mainstream banks. The other banks either cut rates or held off increasing them due to the pressure from Avant. It is likely that when your fixed rate ends, the offering from Avant will be competitive.
 
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Avant One Mortgage updated 15th July 2024

This is a very unusual mortgage in that you fix the rate for the term of the mortgage. So it's not a 30 year mortgage with the rate fixed for 15 years. The 15 year column is for a 15 year term and the rate is fixed for that term.

Mortgage term<80%<90%
Up to 15 years3.8%3.95%
Up to 20 years3.8%3.95%
Up to 25 years3.8%3.95%
Up to 30 years3.8%3.95%
  1. You can overpay by 10% of the remaining balance each year without penalty
  2. The early redemption fee is capped at 2% of your remaining balance
  3. The early redemption fee can be waived if you move home and take out a new mortgage with Avant
  4. Avant pays switchers €1,500 towards the costs of switching
  5. The rate quoted in the loan offer is guaranteed for three months (Check : Does this apply just to switchers?)
 
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AIB updated 26th September 2024

Fixed term<50%<80%>80%
Variable3.75%3.95%4.15%
1 year4.4%4.55%4.65%
3 years4.55%4.7%4.8%
4 years €250,000+3.7%3.85%4.05%
5 years4.65%4.8%5%
7 years4.9%5.05%5.15%
10 years5.05%5.2%5.3%
Green 5 year3.2%3.3%3.4%

  1. AIB pays switchers €3,000
  2. AIB does not have any caps on their break fees. However, they do have two ways of calculating it and you get charged the lower of the two figures.


Evaluation
AIB is a fair lender. They do not discriminate between new and existing borrowers. In other words, when your fixed rate ends, you will be able to get the same rates as offered to new customers. For example, when they introduced a High Value mortgage rate, existing customers qualified for it.

Their variable rate has been consistently lower than the other lenders. This is important because it means that if you do nothing when your fixed rate ends, you won't default to an artificially high variable rate as you would with permanent tsb or Bank of Ireland.
 
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Haven is a subsidiary of AIB but has its own pricing policies and terms and conditions. You apply to Haven through a mortgage broker.
updated 15th July 2024
Variable <50%3.75%
Variable <80%3.95%
Variable >80%4.15%
1 year4.55%
3 years4.75%
5 years4.85%
7 years5.05%
10 years5.15%
Green 4 year3.45%

  1. Switchers are paid €3,000 cash back if their mortgage is less than €250,000
  2. New customers are paid €5,000 cash back if their mortgage is €250,000 or more but not if they switch to the Green Rate
 
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EBS is a subsidiary of AIB but has very different pricing policies and terms and conditions.
updated 15th July 2024
Variable <50%3.75%
Variable <80%3.95%
Variable >80%4.15%
1 year4.55%
3 years5%
5 years5.1%%
Green 4 year3.55%
  1. EBS gives 2% cash back up front and 1% in five years, but excluding:
    1. The EBS Green 4 Year Fixed Rate
    2. Variable rates
    3. 1 year fixed rates
  2. The 1% cash back is subject to the following conditions
    1. Have made all your mortgage repayments in full and on time
    2. Still living in the property
 
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permanent tsb updated 15th July 2024


<60%<80%>80%
Variable4.4%4.5%4.7%
2 year fixed4.5%4.75%4.9%
3 year fixed3.7%3.8%4.5%
4 year fixed new customers only3.65%3.8%3.95%New customers only, no cash back
5 year fixed4.5%4.75%4.9%
Green 3 year fixed3.6%3.7%4.25%New customers only
Green 5 year fixed4.15%4.25%4.5%
Green 7 year fixed4.5%4.75%4.9%
>€250k , 3 year fixed3.6%3.7%4.25%
>€250k, 5 year fixed4.05%4.15%4.4%
>250k, Green 3year fixed3.5%3.6%4.05%New customers only
>€250k , Green 5 year fixed3.95%4.05%4.3%


  1. ptsb has lower variable rates for <50% and <70% but I have omitted them so that the table won't be too unwieldy.
  2. ptsb gives new customers 2% cash back on all rates other than the 4 year fixed rate loan
Permanent TSB's rates have historically been significantly higher than the "non-cashback lenders". If this practice continues, you will be significantly worse off with PTSB over the long term compared to choosing a non-cashback lender (even after accounting for PTSB's cashback).

Some of PTSB's rates are currently competitive but they might not be by the time you draw down your mortgage. That is why you are strongly recommended to apply to several lenders at the same time.
  • "≥€250k" is the "High Value" mortgage and means that you are only eligible for this rate if your mortgage balance is at least €250k
    • Even if your mortgage is more than €250k at the moment, it won't be forever – and so there will come a point in the future when that generous discount on the interest rate won't be available to you if you go to re-fix with PTSB
  • The 4-year fixed rate is only available to new customers and does not offer cashback


Cashback (available to new customers only, but not available on the 4-year fixed rate):
  • 2% of the mortgage balance at drawdown
  • 2% of the monthly mortgage repayments back in cash every month until the end of 2027 (provided you open an Explore account, which has a €6 monthly fee) This is worth about 1/10th of 1% or €120 a year on a mortgage of €100,000.
Permanent TSB have a useful feature in relation to mortgage overpayments:
  • Overpay by as much as you like each month without penalty, and this builds up as a credit on your account
  • You can use this credit to take a payment holiday or to reduce the monthly repayments (or to pay off part of the principal at the end of the fixed period)
  • You are only charged mortgage interest on the net balance, i.e., on the mortgage balance after the credit has been subtracted
  • See this thread for more details
 
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Bank of Ireland updated 15th July 2024

New customers only. Bank of Ireland has special rates to attract new customers but existing customers cannot avail of them.

The website asks you to "Select Mortgage Type" and gives the options of Switcher, First Time Buyer and Mover - but as far as I can see, the rates are the same for all new customers.

The BoI decides your mortgage rate based on the following criteria:
  • New or existing
  • Term
  • BER
Note that they do not appear to have different rates for different Loan to Values.

Because of the different criteria, it's not possible to show all their rates. The following is a representative sample:

BER ABER E
Variable4.15%4.15%
2 years4.3%4.5%
3 years4.4%4.6%
5 years4.4%4.6%
10 years4.7%4.9%
4 years €250k no cash back3.6%3.8%
5 years €250k no cash back3.9%4.1%
7 years €250k no cash back4.7%4.15

I find their website confusing. So verify this information for yourself. (and let me know if any of the information is wrong.)

  1. If you move home, you can bring your rate with you as long as your new mortgage is drawn down within 6 months of redeeming the old mortgage.
  2. You can take a 3 month payment break up to 3 times over the life of the mortgage - subject to conditions e.g. your mortgage must be drawn down at least two years, and there must be at least 12 months between payment breaks.

Bank of Ireland's rates have historically been higher than the "non-cashback lenders". If this practice continues, you will be significantly worse off with BOI over the long term compared to choosing a non-cashback lender (even after accounting for BOI's cashback).

Some of BOI's rates are currently competitive but they might not be by the time you draw down your mortgage. That is why you are strongly recommended to apply to several lenders at the same time.

Bank of Ireland discriminate on interest rates between new and existing customers, i.e., their best rates are not available to their existing customers. None of their high-value ("≥€250k") rates are available to their existing customers, and so these "discounts" won't be available to you when your initial fixed-rate period ends.

Cashback (available to new customers only, but not available on any of the rates marked "≥€250k" in the above tables):
  • 2% of the mortgage balance at drawdown
  • 1% of the mortgage balance after 5 years (provided you still have your mortgage with Bank of Ireland)
 
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Bank of Ireland - updated 15th July 2024

Existing customers only

Existing customers cannot avail of the lower rates offered for mortgages over €250k

The website asks you to "Select Mortgage Type" and gives the options of Switcher, First Time Buyer and Mover - but as far as I can see, the rates are the same for all new customers.

The BoI decides your mortgage rate based on the following criteria:
  • New or existing
  • Term
  • BER
Note that they do not appear to have different rates for different Loan to Values.

Because of the different criteria, it's not possible to show all their rates. The following is a representative sample:

BER ABER E
Variable4.15%4.15%
2 years3.8%4%
3 years3.9%4.1%
5 years3.9%4.1%
10 years4.2%4.4%
4 years high value
Not available to existing customers​
Not available to existing customers​
5 years high value
Not available to existing customers​
Not available to existing customers​
7 years high value
Not available to existing customers​
Not available to existing customers​
 
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Other lenders


www.icsmortgages.ie

Owner Occupier Rates | ICS Mortgages | Residential Mortgages

The ICS Brand was established in 1864 and has remained a leading and trusted brand in the mortgage market throughout its 150-year history.
www.icsmortgages.ie www.icsmortgages.ie

ICS has very high rates. Although they were competitive in the past, they hiked up their rates suddenly and, effectively closed to new business. This was of little comfort to existing customers who were faced with sky high rates when their fixed rate term ended. Avoid

Mortgage Rates - Finance Ireland

www.financeireland.ie www.financeireland.ie
Another lender with very high rates. But they do have a "Progress Plus" product for people with slightly impaired credit ratings. So if you can't get a mortgage elsewhere, this could be a last resort.
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Our Rates

www.moco.ie www.moco.ie

A new lender. As they have no track record and are not cheaper than the existing lenders, I wouldn't see any reason to go to them for a mortgage.

They might suit some people who can't get a mortgage elsewhere:

MoCo allows mortgages up to age 80

https://www.independent.ie/business/personal-finance/a-mortgage-until-youre-80-new-lender-moco-to-offer-later-life-loans/a443659912.html Its credit policy states: “Max term of up to 35 years. Max terms to applicant age of 80.” Asked if it was not irresponsible to let people pay a mortgage...
www.askaboutmoney.com


1721065581562.png
 
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