Irish Foreclosure Wave Risks Killing Housing Recovery: Mortgages
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Irish bankers preparing for the biggest wave of foreclosures in the nation’s history are struggling with how to dispose of the homes as the central bank pressures them to go after owners of investment properties.
Ireland, which had the biggest real estate crash in Europe with a 50 percent plunge in residential prices since 2007, is only now contemplating significant repossessions. The focus is on the so-called buy-to-let market, or properties bought to rent, which jumped during Ireland’s decade-long real estate boom, and now account for more than a fifth of the 142 billion-euro ($184 billion) mortgage market.