Home price growth slows to 6.1% in January – CSO
The pace of residential property price inflation slowed to an annual rate of 6.1% in January, compared to an annual rate of 7.7% in December, according to the latest Central Statistics Office figures. Today’s figures also show a marked increase in property sales by investors last year. The CSO said that home prices fell on […]
Consumers warned over pitfalls of online shopping
Irish online consumers can be led into over consumption, over indebtedness and may lose out on fair pricing and terms due to online e-commerce practices by some sellers, according to the European Consumer Centre Ireland. Last year Irish people were the third biggest online shoppers in Europe after the Netherlands and Denmark. The European Consumer […]
ECB likely to stick to big rate hike despite banking turmoil – source
European Central Bank policymakers are still leaning towards a half-percentage-point rate hike tomorrow, despite turmoil in the banking sector, as they expect inflation will remain too high in coming years, a source told Reuters. Investors had begun to doubt the ECB’s commitment to another big rate hike this week after the collapse of Silicon Valley […]
EU publishes proposed changes to electricity market rules
The European Commission has proposed changes to Europe’s electricity market rules, to try to increase the use of fixed-price power contracts, shield consumers from price spikes and speed up the shift to renewable energy. The European Union said last year it would overhaul its electricity market after cuts to Russian gas supplies drove European power […]
Nearly 27,000 new homes to be delivered this year, BPFI predicts
Nearly 27,000 new housing units will be delivered this year, new figures from Banking and Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI) suggest. The latest BPFI housing market monitor shows that housing supply recovered significantly last year after lower-than-expected output in 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic. Almost 30,000 new homes were completed last year, up 45% […]
MEPs to vote on minimum energy standards for buildings across EU
MEPs will vote later today on proposals to set minimum energy standards for buildings across the EU. Among the changes, the heating and cooling of new buildings will have to result in zero emissions from 2028 onwards. The energy rating of existing residential buildings will have to meet a minimum E rating by 2030 and […]
Finance Ireland to increase fixed mortgage rates by up to 0.75%
Non-bank lender, Finance Ireland, is increasing its fixed mortgage rates by up to 0.75%. The company said 5-year fixed rates will increase by 0.5%, while 3-year fixed rates will rise by 0.75%. The changes will take place from this Thursday. But the lender said that customers who have a loan offer by then will have […]
Fall in workplaces trialling four-day week, survey finds
There has been a fall in the number of companies implementing or trialling a four-day working week, according to a new survey. The study by recruitment company Hays Ireland shows that the number of workplaces that have either implemented or are trialling a four-day working week has dropped from 6% in 2022 to 3.5% in […]
In the money – Irish banks are boosted by rates bounce
The banking sector has been no stranger to dramatic developments in recent years. Indeed, the past 15 months have not been without their fair share of twists, which were reflected in the annual results of the main banks which were published over the last few weeks. As 2022 kicked off, the industry was still grappling […]
Hotels almost sold out for St Patrick’s weekend despite high prices
Hotel rooms in Dublin city are almost completely sold out ahead of St Patrick’s Day, with rooms also in demand for the Six Nations championship and Mother’s Day the same weekend. The Irish Hotel’s Federation (IHF) said there is only approximately 1% availability left, while room prices in the capital have jumped by 18% over […]
Irish mortgage rates increase in January after ECB hikes
Mortgage rates went up in January reflecting some of the effect of successive interest rate rises from the European Central Bank. New data from the Central Bank also shows an average gap between the variable rates charged by the main banks and non-bank lenders of just over 1%. The average interest rate on new mortgages […]
Warning issued about serious rise in investment scams
Consumers have been warned of a serious rise in highly convincing investment scams that are being carried out by fraudsters. The scams are particularly targeted at those over the age of 55, with a minimum investment of €20,000 or more. The FraudSMART awareness initiative from the Banking and Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI) says the scams […]
Households saving rate stays high at 20% in Q4 – CSO
New figures from the Central Statistics Office show that households’ saving remained high during the last three months of 2022. The CSO said the Households Saving Rate stood at 20% in the fourth quarter of 2022 as people continued the higher rate of saving begun during the Covid pandemic. Before adjusting for seasonality or inflation, […]
23% of consumers struggling with higher grocery prices
Nearly a quarter of consumers are struggling to make ends meet due to rising grocery prices, according to research conducted on behalf of Love Irish Food. The study, carried out by Kantar, found that 23% of consumers are facing difficulties in covering the cost of shopping due to the jump in prices in the past […]
US and EU to begin talks on free-trade-like status
US President Joe Biden and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen are expected to agree to begin negotiations on ensuring free-trade agreement-like status for the European Union, according to sources. The leaders are set to meet in Washington tomorrow. Reuters reported last week that the United States and EU were working to make European […]
Central Bank forecasts inflation to fall to 5% this year
Inflation is forecast to fall to 5% this year and household incomes are expected to improve, according to the Central Bank. In its latest Quarterly Bulletin, the bank expects the domestic economy to grow by just over 3% this year. It thinks inflation will be lower this year, due to falling energy prices, and expects […]
Temporary changes to how BIK is charged on company cars and vans
The Government has announced temporary changes to how Benefit-in-Kind (BIK) is charged on company cars and vans, after complaints that reforms introduced at the start of the year were leading to big increases in tax bills for those driving them. The changes that took effect from January 1st saw a shift to a new BIK […]
1 in 12 private vehicles in Ireland are uninsured – MIBI
The Motor Insurers’ Bureau of Ireland (MIBI) will tell an Oireachtas committee later today that Ireland may now have the highest level of uninsured vehicles in the EU. The MIBI said the level of uninsured vehicles here is now three times that of the UK and four times that found across the EU and EEA. […]