Michael McGrath
Question:212. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Finance his estimate of the number of residential mortgages in negative equity; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13696/13]
View answerWednesday, 20 March 2013
Questions (212, 213)
Michael McGrath
Question:213. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Finance the best estimate available for residential properties in negative equity of the total market value of such properties and the total outstanding loan values attaching to them; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13697/13]
View answerWritten answers
I propose to take Questions Nos. 212 and 213 together.
While the Central Bank publishes aggregate data each quarter on the level of residential mortgages and mortgage arrears, it is not possible to produce estimates of the level of negative equity on a similar regular basis. However, from time to time the Central Bank has, based on detailed granular data that becomes available to it for a sample of banks, produced estimates of the amount of negative equity in the Irish housing market. The most recent estimates for this was contained in the Central Bank’s 2012 macro-financial review, updating earlier central bank work published in their quarterly bulletin (Jan 2012), and it indicated that for the FMP sample of banks (i.e. banks subject to the Financial Measures Programme and excluding foreign subsidiaries), based on the position that pertained in the second half of 2011, around 24 per cent or 144,000 mortgages were in negative equity and that the value amount of the negative equity across mortgages was circa €10 billion.