Irish mortgage rates have jumped by 0.07 per cent, the largest monthly increase in almost five years.
The new figures from the Central Bank come as Ireland has the second-highest mortgage rates in the Eurozone.
In January, the average interest rate on a new mortgage in Ireland was 2.76 per cent, second only to Greece in the 19-country Eurozone.
Meanwhile, Finland has the lowest average mortgage rate at just 0.79 per cent, followed by Portugal at 0.80 per cent.
The Eurozone average currently stands at 1.31 per cent, up from 1.29 per cent in December.
Commenting on the figures, Daragh Cassidy, head of communications at bonkers.ie said: “Mortgage rates have been falling slowly but steadily in Ireland over the past several years. And they continue to fall - for now at least.
“Today’s news that the average rate has increased suggests more first-time buyers might be opting for longer-term, more expensive fixed rates than previously.
“This would be unsurprising as there has been talk in recent months of the ECB starting to increase rates.”
A recent flash estimate for inflation in the Eurozone shows it running at 5.8 per cent in February - almost triple the ECB target of 2 per cent.
“The rapid rise in property prices might also be having an effect,” Mr Cassidy said.
“Lenders price their mortgage rates based on how much equity someone has in their home or the size of the deposit they have in relation to the loan. This is usually referred to as the loan-to-value (LTV) ratio. The bigger the deposit a homebuyer has the better the rate they’ll be offered by most lenders.
“However rapidly rising property prices mean buyers who previously may have been able to avail of a cheaper rate for those with an LTV below 80 per cent are now being pushed into a higher LTV band instead.”
