Irish mortgage rates are the second highest in the eurozone after Greece, figures for January from the Central Bank show, with the average interest rate on home loans rising from 2.69% to 2.76% month-on-month.

The average rate was down three basis points from the same time last year, but the weighted average interest rate on new fixed-rate mortgage agreements, which accounted for 81% of all new mortgages in January, was 2.59%, a decrease of six basis points year-on-year.

The proportion of variable mortgage rate agreements continues to decline, now accounting for less than a fifth of new mortgages, with a weighted average interest rate of 3.54% for the month, significantly higher than previous month, reflecting the low volume of loans.

The volume of new mortgage agreements amounted to €530m in January, a decline from December but in line with seasonal trends, and an increase of 6% from last January. Meanwhile, renegotiated mortgages amounted to €321m with an average interest rate of 2.61%.

The average interest rate on new consumer loans, the total of which rose 22% year-on-year to €191m, was 6.71%, while lending to non-financial corporations totalled €1.6bn.

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There was €101m in loans worth up to €250,000 with an average rate of 1.94%, €94m in loans between €250,000 and €1m at an average of 2.86%, and €1.4bn in loans over €1m at an average of 2.42%. Overdrafts among non-financial corporations rose 73% year-on-year to €4.5bn with a weighted average interest rate of 3.37%.

The Central Bank also noted that interest rates on household loans stood at 0.12% in December, half the eurozone average, while interest rates on new non-financial corporation term deposits averaged to -0.44%.