The Central Bank today published Q1 (first
quarter) 2013 data on mortgage arrears, repossessions and restructures, which
shows that there were 95,554 (12.3%) private residential mortgage accounts for
principal dwelling houses (PDH) in arrears of over 90 days at end-March 2013, up
from 92,349 accounts (11.9%) at end-December 2012. Buy-to-let arrears were
almost 20%.
The Bank said that at end-March 2013, there were 774,109 private residential
mortgage accounts for principal dwellings held in the Republic of Ireland, to a
value of €109.9bn. Of this total stock of accounts, 95,554, or 12.3%, were in
arrears of more than 90 days. This compares with 92,349 accounts (11.9% of
total) that were in arrears of more than 90 days at end-December 2012. The
outstanding balance on PDH mortgage accounts in arrears of more than 90 days was
€18.1bn at end-March, equivalent to 16.5% of the total outstanding balance on
all PDH mortgage accounts.
The divergent trends in early arrears and longer-term arrears continued in Q1.
There was a quarter-on-quarter decline of 0.7% in the number of accounts in
arrears of less than 90 days, which stood at 46,564 at end-March, or 6% of the
total stock. Meanwhile, the number of accounts in arrears of over 360 days
increased by 7.4% during Q1. At end-March 2013, 54,135 PDH accounts, or 7% of
the total stock, were in arrears of over 360 days. Just under half of these were
in arrears of more than 720 days. The outstanding balance on PDH accounts in
arrears over 360 days was €10.8bn at end-March, equivalent to 9.8% of the total
outstanding balance on all PDH mortgage accounts.
A total stock of 79,689 PDH mortgage accounts were categorised as restructured
at end-March 2013. This reflects an increase of 1.8% from the stock of
restructured accounts reported at end-December 2012. Of the total stock recorded
at end-March, 53% were not in arrears.
A total of 24,706 new restructure arrangements were agreed during the first
quarter of the year.[3] Interest only arrangements and reduced payment
arrangements (interest plus some capital) continue to account for the majority
of all restructures in place, although their share fell to 55% of total
restructures at end-March, compared to 59% at end-December 2012.
Buy-to-Let
At end-March 2013, there were 149,395 residential
mortgage accounts for buy-to-let properties held in the Republic of Ireland, to
a value of €30.9bn. Of this total stock of accounts, 29,369, or 19.7%, were in
arrears of more than 90 days. This compares with 28,366 (18.9% of total) that
were in arrears of more than 90 days at end-December 2012. The outstanding
balance on BTL mortgage accounts in arrears of more than 90 days was €8.6bn at
end-March, equivalent to 27.7% of the total outstanding balance on all BTL
mortgage accounts.
The number of accounts that were in arrears of more than 180 days was 24,760 at
end-March 2013, reflecting a quarter-on-quarter increase of 4.9%. This compares
to an increase of 7.2% recorded in Q4 2012, relative to Q3. Meanwhile, the
number of accounts in arrears of over 360 days increased by 8.4% during Q1 2013.
At end-March 2013, 18,199 BTL accounts, or 12.2% of the total stock, were in
arrears of over 360 days. The outstanding balance on these accounts was €5.7bn
at end-March, equivalent to 18.3% of the total outstanding balance on all BTL
mortgage accounts. There was an increase of 5.2% in the number of early arrears
cases during the first quarter of the year. The number of BTL mortgage accounts
in arrears of less than 90 days was 10,002 at end-March, or 6.7% of the total
stock.
Restructuring Arrangements
A total stock of 21,504 BTL mortgage accounts were categorised as restructured
at end-March 2013, reflecting a decrease of 1.1% from the stock of restructured
accounts reported at end-December 2012. Of the total stock recorded at
end-March, 61% were not in arrears, while 78% were meeting the terms of their
restructure arrangement. A total of 5,897 new restructure arrangements were
agreed during the first quarter of the year. Interest only arrangements and
reduced payment arrangements (interest plus some capital) continued to account
for the majority of restructures in place for BTL mortgages (approximately 69%).
The data on arrears and restructures indicate that of the total stock of 39,371
BTL accounts that were in arrears at end-March 2013, 8,363, or 21.2%, were
classified as restructured at that time.
Legal Proceedings and Repossessions
There were 447 BTL properties in the banks’ possession at the beginning of Q1
2013. A total of 77 properties were taken into possession by lenders during the
quarter, of which 30 were repossessed on foot of a Court Order, while the
remaining 47 were voluntarily surrendered or abandoned. During the quarter 45
properties were disposed of. As a result, lenders were in possession of 479 BTL
properties at end-March 2013.
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