Sunday Times Best Buys List

Hi,

The Sunday Times best buys list for mortgages with a loan-to-value of 60% or less reads like this:

Lender: AIB
Period: 25 years
APR: 2.95%
Cost/€1000: €4.59
Repayment: €1147.47

Lender: NIB
Period: 25 years
APR: 2.8%
Cost/€1000: €4.63
Repayment: €1159

Can anyone shed some light on why AIB appears cheaper despite the higher APR?

I don't know if a higher APR can ever result in a lower cost per thousand but I suspect that the Sunday Times have incorrectly published the nominal rate (2.95%) for AIB (2.99% APR according to the AAM best buys list whose costs per thousand are based on a 20 year term) and the APR (2.80%) for NIB. Maybe that explains matters?

It looks like an error alright. It was like that the last few weeks also.

Although I read somewhere recently that the key figure to look for when chosing a mortgage is the cost/€1000 as that's the true indicator of the cost of the mortgage. That would suggest the APR can sometimes be misleading. Perhaps different institutions calculate interest due in different ways, i.e. on a daily basis rather then at the end of the month? Wouldn't the former mean higher interest due due to compounding?

AIB's website says the following - maybe this is the reason:

Interest is calculated daily
This facility saves you money compared to other lenders who calculate interest on a monthly or annual basis.

The figures quoted for NIB appears to be correct

The figures for AIB should be 1179 and 4.72 per '000 at the rates you quoted

The best rate from AIB is 2.99 over 20 years from AIB see below
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I meant to add that AIB's mortgage calculator appears to be down at present. Maybe there trying to fix it

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