Irish mortgage interest costs double in five years, with rents up 36% in same period

The average Irish monthly mortgage interest bill has doubled in the five years to October, driven by higher loan rates and an ongoing surge in home values, according to the Central Statistics Office (CSO).

Mortgage interest costs are now at their highest level since October 2008, the CSO said in an occasional paper published on Wednesday highlighting developments in rents, mortgage interest payments, and household maintenance costs.

The report did not give a euro value for the average household interest cost.

However, separate data published by the Central Bank on Wednesday show that the average new rate for an Irish mortgage stood at 3.52 per cent in September, which is up from 2.72 per cent in September 2021, following a net spike in central bank rates over the period.

Irish residential prices have jumped by 41 per cent in the five years to August, according to data contained in the CSO’s most recent monthly report on property values, published last month.

The new CSO report shows that rent prices have increased by 36 per cent over five years and are at their highest level since the agency started compiling such figures in 1996 as part of its analysis of general consumer price inflation.

Meanwhile, household maintenance costs, which includes materials and services for household repair and maintenance, have risen 19.3 per cent in the last five years, it said.

“When we look at price indices, which show price trends over time, in October 2026, mortgage interest costs were at their highest level since October 2008. This was due to a number of interest rate rises and the increasing value of houses over this time period,” the CSO said.

“Rental price levels as measured by the CPI are at their highest level since the CSO began publishing detailed sub-indices in November 1996 and have increased every month since July 2021.”