The Central Bank of Ireland has published new economic research on 'Variable Mortgage Rate Pricing in Ireland'.

The research examines movements in the interest rates charged on variable rate mortgages over the last number of years.

Variable rate mortgages, the most common of which is the Standard Variable Rate or 'SVR', account for approximately one-third of outstanding loan balances and one-half of outstanding loans by number.

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Since early 2009, the bulk of new mortgage lending has been on variable rates. By contrast, at the peak of the recent property boom, over three-quarters of new lending was on tracker rates.

Currently, the average interest rate on variable rate loans is just under 2 per cent higher than the average interest rate on tracker loans. This varies considerably across banks and is as much as 3 per cent for some lenders. Up to end 2008, the difference was almost zero between variable and tracker rates.

(CD/GK)