Ireland has second highest mortgage interest rate in Europe

Ireland has the second highest mortgage interest rates in Europe, second only to Greece. 

New figures from the Central Bank show that rates here were double those in the rest of the currency zone in August.

In August the average interest rate was 2.74pc, down 9 basis points on August last year.

The average for the euro area is 1.27pc.

Finland has the lowest interest rate, coming in at under 1pc. 

Fixed rate mortgages accounted for 80% of new mortgages during the month.

For new variable rate mortgage agreements, the average interest rate stood at 3.31%, down 15 basis points on the same time last year, although volumes agreed remain quite volatile.

The volume of new mortgage agreements amounted to €704 million in August.