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The mortgage rate war heats up further as the country’s third biggest lender cuts its fixed rates by up to 1.05 percentage points.

In recent weeks we've seen a mortgage rate war break out as several of the country's main lenders have reduced their rates.

First we saw AIB, EBS and Haven all reduce their green mortgage rates. This was shortly followed by Bank of Ireland which introduced an entire new set of competitive fixed rates based on the energy rating of the property as opposed to the loan-to-value ratio.

And then at the end of April Avant Money also cuts its rates while introducing a new 1% cashback switching offer.

Now PTSB is slashing most of its fixed rates as its vies to remain competitive in an increasingly cut-throat mortgage market.

What's changing?

PTSB is making big cuts to almost all of its fixed rates.

The biggest changes are being made to its three-year fixed rate as PTSB says this is the most popular rate with its customers at present.

For a standard first-time buyer with a 10% deposit (or a loan-to-value ratio of 90%) PTSB’s three-year fixed rate is reducing by 0.60 percentage points to 4.50%. For those with a 20% deposit (or a loan-to-value ratio of 80%) the rate is reducing by 1.05 percentage points to 3.80%. And for those with a loan-to-value ratio of 60% or better the rate is reducing by 1.05 percentage points to 3.70%.

PTSB is also making cuts to its increasingly popular green mortgage rates which will now start from just 3.50%.

Additional reductions include two-year fixed rates reducing by up to 0.25 percentage points and seven-year fixed rates reducing by up to 0.35 percentage points.

PTSB’s popular 2% cashback offer which gives 2% of the mortgage amount back in cash remains unchanged.

Here’s a look at all the changes which will come into effect from the end of May.

PTSB fixed rates	Current rate	New rate	Reduction
2-Year (0-60% LTV)	4.75%	4.50%	-0.25%
2-Year (60-80% LTV)	4.85%	4.75%	-0.10%
2-Year (80-90% LTV)	5.10%	4.90%	-0.20%
3-Year (0-60% LTV)	4.75%	3.70%	-1.05%
3-Year (60-80% LTV)	4.85%	3.80%	-1.05%
3-Year (80-90% LTV)	5.10%	4.50%	-0.60%
4-Year (0-60% LTV)*	3.80%	3.65%	-0.15%
4-Year (60-80% LTV)*	3.90%	3.80%	-0.10%
4-Year (80-90% LTV)*	4.05%	3.95%	-0.10%
5-Year (0-60% LTV)	4.85%	4.50%	-0.35%
5-Year (60-80% LTV)	4.95%	4.75%	-0.20%
5-Year (80-90% LTV)	5.20%	4.90%	-0.30%
7-Year (0-60% LTV)	4.85%	4.50%	-0.35%
7-Year (60-80% LTV)	4.95%	4.75%	-0.20%
7-Year (80-90% LTV)	5.20%	4.90%	-0.30%
3-Year - Green (0-60% LTV)	4.00%	3.60%	-0.40%
3-Year - Green (60-80% LTV)	4.10%	3.70%	-0.40%
3-Year - Green (80-90% LTV)	4.35%	4.25%	-0.10%

PTSB also offers separate rates for those taking out a high-value mortgage (HVM) of €250,000 or more. These rates are also being cut.

PTSB fixed rates	Current rate	New rate	Reduction
3-Year - HVM (0-60% LTV)	4.55%	3.60%	-0.95%
3-Year - HVM (60-80% LTV)	4.65%	3.70%	-0.95%
3-Year - HVM (80-90% LTV)	4.90%	4.25%	-0.65%
3-Year - HVM - Green (0-60% LTV)	3.80%	3.50%	-0.30%
3-Year - HVM - Green (60-80% LTV)	3.90%	3.60%	-0.30%
3-Year - HVM - Green (80-90% LTV)	4.15%	4.05%	-0.10%
5-Year - HVM (0-60% LTV)	4.65%	4.05%	-0.60%
5-Year - HVM (60-80% LTV)	4.75%	4.15%	-0.60%
5-Year - HVM (80-90% LTV)	5.00%	4.40%	-0.60%

*available to new customers only. Does not come with cashback.

Who are the rates available to?

The new rates are available to first-time buyers, movers and switchers from the end of May.

The new rates are also available to both new AND existing costumes. This will come as a relief to those currently on a fixed rate with PTSB which is due to come to an end over the coming months. Previous rate reductions from PTSB had only applied to new customers.

The only exception is PTSB’s four-year rate which is only available to new customers. And some of these new rates are only available to existing customers from July.

We are committed to competing strongly in the mortgage market – the combination of these new, lower rates and the quality of our service and our people demonstrate this commitment and our desire to win new business. We are placing a particular focus on cuts to 3-year fixed term rates as this term is extremely popular with our customers. As always we will keep our rates under review to ensure we remain competitive.

Patrick Farrell, PTSB Retail Banking Director

What about PTSB’s other rates?

There is no change to PTSB’s variable rates for now. And its buy-to-let rates remain unchanged too.

And those on trackers won’t see a change to their repayments either. However, tracker customers are likely to see their repayments fall later in the year as the ECB is expected to cut rates two or three times before the end of the year.

And in September tracker customers will benefit from an additional ‘technical’ rate cut of 0.35 percentage points.

Not all good news...

While mortgage rates have been trending downwards in recent weeks, this is also likely to put downward pressure on savings rates too unfortunately.

Only last week PTSB made some changes to its deposit rates which you can read about here.

Get your mortgage with bonkers.ie

If you’re hoping to get your foot on the property ladder over the coming year, or are looking to save money by switching to a cheaper rate with a different lender, bonkers.ie can help.

Use our free mortgage calculator to easily find the best interest rates and cashback incentives from all of Ireland’s mortgage providers.

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PTSB slashes its mortgage rates