Housing equity withdrawal in Ireland: 2000 - 2011

At the peak of the Irish property boom in the mid-2000s, housing equity withdrawal by existing homeowners accounted for around one-third of residential mortgage loans issued. This collateral-based lending was typically issued at a signi cant discount to other forms of personal lending, often at tracker rates. By the end of 2011 the value of equity release borrowing was down 97 percent from the peak (2006). This Economic Letter summarises the trends in housing equity withdrawal over the last decade, both in terms of the extent of lending that occurred and the reasons for borrowers taking out such loans. We nd that whilst the majority of housing equity withdrawal was used for housing investment, there is a also a strong correlation between equity release patterns and spending on certain large-scale consumer durables such as motors and furniture.