We have been asked this question repeatedly over the last number of months and in most cases the answer has been yes, mainly because Irish borrowers have preferred shorter term fixed rate products in the past.
The Central Bank's new measures for mortgages are effective from January 2023. These changes will allow a first-time buyer borrow up to 4 times their income (single or combined). This is an increase from 3.5 times their income.
Ireland now has the third cheapest mortgage rates in the Eurozone. Unusually, Irish rate increases have lagged compared to other Eurozone countries, but it likely won’t stay that way for too long.
1973 saw the publication of one of the most famous books on investing ever written. A Random Walk Down Wall Street by the Princeton University economist Burton Malkiel was initially panned by the critics, but it has gone on to sell more than two million copies worldwide.
The number of books giving financial advice has taken off in recent years. A few of them, such as Robert Kiyosaki’s Rich Dad, Poor Dad have topped best seller lists. However, very few, if any, of these books have been written by economists. And recent research suggests why.
Investors crave certainty, and, in times of uncertainty, they seek out financial advisers who can give them answers. Will markets fall further? Will there be a global recession? What will the ECB decide to do about interest rates at its next meeting?