Auctioneers’ group concern over mortgage lending ‘ban’
An auctioneers’ representative group has described the decision by AIB to halt mortgage lending to people who are in receipt of Covid-19 wage subsidies as “worrying”.
The IPAV, the Institute of Professional Auctioneers and Valuers, questioned the blanket nature of the ban.
Pat Davitt, Chief Executive of IPAV said: “While no one expects lenders to engage in irresponsible lending, blanket diktats are worrying because they are likely to impact many with good repayment prospects.
“In any event most consumers are responsible and will of themselves not want to take on debt if they don’t have the confidence that they will have the capacity to repay their mortgages.
“The current scenario is drastically different from the 2007 recession. Borrowers were able to negotiate 100pc mortgages, up to seven times salary on properties that were 40pc higher than today and we had 300,000 too many properties. Today we have 70 to 90pc mortgages, 3.5 times Loan To Income, cheaper property prices and at least 300,000 too few properties.”