Avant Money, which is owned by Spanish banking group Bankinter, announced that it will reduce the number of its mortgage interest rates from 9 December.
It is announced to reduce fixed rates by up to 0.30%, with lower follow-on variable rates starting from 2.0%.
Avant Money will offer a 3-year fixed rate of 2.20% at 90% loan to value. This is 0.15 percentage points lower than the next best offer in the market.
At first, it restricted its operations to cities and larger urban areas. Now, the company is extending its coverage to make its mortgages available across the country.
The company said it believes the new rates will appeal to first time buyers, who typically require a higher loan to value a mortgage.
“Avant Money entered the mortgage market with a mission to bring lower mortgage interest rates, innovative new products and long-term value giving real savings over the life of a mortgage,” said Brian Lande, Head of Mortgages for Avant Money.
It is going to reduce the cost of 15 of its various fixed rates and two of its follow-on variable rates, which borrowers revert to when they complete their fixed-rate term.
The cuts will mean big savings for first-time buyers and switchers taking out an Avant Money mortgage.
Switchers needing a mortgage of €250,000 over 20 years, with a 70pc loan to value, could save up to €56,000 over the life of their mortgage with the new lower three-year fixed rate.
This is based on an Avant Money rate of 2.05pc compared with Bank of Ireland’s three-year rate of 3pc.
Avant Money was the first to offer mortgages for under 2pc when it moved into Ireland last year. This new round of mortgage rate cuts will turn up pressure on the big banks.
From Monday, Finance Ireland is reducing its 10-, 15- and 20-year fixed rates and introducing a new 25-year fixed rate. Most rates are coming down by 0.10 percentage points.
Finance Ireland is also introducing a limited offer of €1,500 for professional fees for switching and taking up a long-term fixed rate.
Avant Money said the rate reductions would provide an additional incentive to switch for customers of KBC and Ulster Bank, who may be considering their mortgage options in the coming months.
In this way, Avant Money is aiming to become the fourth-largest provider of mortgages here, after AIB, Bank of Ireland and Permanent TSB.
Despite these slashing rates, there has been little reaction from AIB and Bank of Ireland so far.
Source: independent.ie
Author: Fran Cooke
