A Permanent TSB Mortgage Ireland has always been a popular choice for Irish home buyers, but is a PTSB mortgage good value? In our Permanent TSB Mortgage Ultimate Review – Ireland 2024 we give you the inside track on all things PTSB mortgage Ireland and what your options and alternatives are.
With PTSB being one of the Irish ‘pillar banks’ getting a Permanent TSB mortgage has always felt like a safe mortgage option for many.
Digging a little deeper though PTSB Mortgage rates right now are actually some of the highest in the market and there are better options for most people to choose.
| Rank | Mortgage Product | Rate Value | Repayment Security | Ease of Approval | Approval Speed | Overall Rating |
| #1. | Avant Money Mortgage 10-30 Yr Fixed | 4.25 | 5.0 | 4.0 | 5.0 | 4.58 |
| #2. | Avant Money Mortgage 7 Yr Fixed | 4.25 | 3.5 | 4.0 | 5.0 | 4.13 |
| #3. | Haven Mortgage 10 Yr Fixed | 3.5 | 4.0 | 3.5 | 5.0 | 3.95 |
| #4. | Avant Money Mortgage 5 Yr Fixed | 4.5 | 2.5 | 4.0 | 5.0 | 3.90 |
| #5. | Haven Mortgage 7 Yr Fixed | 4.0 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.0 | 3.55 |
Rating Weighting: Rate 30%, Security 30%, Approval 20%, Speed 20%, updated 26/09/2023
As a bank that has to support a substantial branch network and expensive legacy tracker mortgages, PTSB mortgages have the second highest rates in the market, with only Bank of Ireland charging more.
In the introductory fixed rate period you will end up paying around 1.5% more than with some other lenders and after that period the difference is even larger with PTSB mortgages charging rates of 4%+ on their ‘follow on’ variable rates compared to 3.5% with others.
PTSB mortgages do offer more in cash back, a once off payment when the mortgage is drawn down, than most other lenders, but what they give in cash back is way less than what they take with the higher introductory and follow on interest rates.
The difference in interest rates might not seem that much at first, but it really mounts up over the course of a mortgage term.
Read on to get all the facts and figures on how much seemingly cash back offers really cost you and what better alternatives are available.
You can check out how a Permanent TSB mortgage compares to others using our calculator here.
Read on to find out if a PTSB mortgage makes sense for you and the other options for a great rate and easy approval.
- PTSB Mortgage Rate and Product Overview – Permanent TSB Mortgage Ireland 2024
- Pro’s & Con’s – Permanent TSB Mortgage Ireland 2024
- Recommendation – Permanent TSB Mortgage Mortgages Ireland 2024
- Alternatives – Permanent TSB Mortgage Ireland 2024
- In a Nutshell – Permanent TSB Mortgage Ireland 2024
PTSB Mortgage Rate and Product Overview – Permanent TSB Mortgage Ireland 2024
PTSB Mortgage Product
Permanent TSB are selective about what they lend for.
- They offer residential mortgages of more than €100,000 only, including first time buyers, home movers, buy to let and switchers.
- PTSB mortgages also offer staged payment self build mortgages.
- PTSB do not offer mortgages to people moving to Ireland from abroad.
Permanent TSB will also do top up mortgages for home improvements.
PTSB Mortgage Approval Credit Policy
Permanent TSB mortgages are pretty middle of the road when it comes to their credit policy, the Goldilocks of the banking world, not to strict and not too loose.
One thing to watch out for though is over recent years the time taken to approve a PTSB Mortgage has extended to a couple of weeks a more, which can be a problem if you need your money in a hurry get hold of your dream home.
They will allow you to borrow more than 3.5 times your income if you can show you have sufficient disposable income. These mortgages are known as ‘exceptions’ as they are exceptions to the Central Bank lending limits.
PTSB Mortgage Rate
In the 3 year fixed rate mortgage comparison table below the PTSB mortgage comes out in the lower half, but unlike some of the other lenders they will give you 2% of your mortgage loan back when you draw down your loan as well as a further 2% reduction on your repayments if you have their Explorer current account.
| 3 Year Fixed APRC | Avant Money | MoCo | ICS Mortgages | Finance Ireland | Haven Mortgages | AIB Mortgage | EBS Mortgage | Permanent TSB | Bank of Ireland |
| Up to 50% LTV | 3.97% | 4.82% | – | 6.64% | 4.50% | 4.09% | 4.60% | 4.65% | 4.60% |
| Up to 60% LTV | 3.97% | 4.82% | – | 6.78% | 4.50% | 4.09% | 4.60% | 4.51% | 4.60% |
| Up to 70% LTV | 3.97% | 4.82% | 6.16% | 6.80% | 4.50% | 4.29% | 4.60% | 4.68% | 4.60% |
| Up to 80% LTV | 3.97% | 4.82% | 6.39% | 6.80% | 4.50% | 4.46% | 4.60% | 4.68% | 4.60% |
| Up to 90% LTV | 4.05% | 4.82% | 6.43% | 7.06% | 4.50% | 4.46% | 4.60% | 4.98% | 4.60% |
A fairer comparison then would be to use PTSB’s 4 year rate with no cash back with an attractive sounding fixed rate, that way we are comparing apples with apples.
| 4 Year Fixed APRC | Avant Money | Haven Mortgages* | AIB Mortgage | Permanent TSB | EBS Mortgage* | Bank of Ireland** |
| Up to 50% LTV | 3.90% | 4.00% | 4.19% | 4.28% | 4.00% | 4.00% |
| Up to 60% LTV | 3.90% | 4.00% | 4.19% | 4.39% | 4.00% | 3.90% |
| Up to 70% LTV | 3.90% | 4.00% | 4.19% | 4.39% | 4.00% | 4.20% |
| Up to 80% LTV | 3.90% | 4.00% | 4.38% | 4.57% | 4.00% | 4.10% |
| Up to 90% LTV | 4.11% | 4.00% | 4.54% | 4.57% | 4.00% | 4.40% |
The Annual Percentage Rate Charge (APRC) represents the average rate across the lifetime of a typical mortgage and is recommended as the best rate to use for comparisons by the CCPC. [1] You can check out the APRC of all the mortgages currently on the market using our comparison tool here.
Comparing the 4 year non cash back offer for a PTSB mortgage does move it up to mid table, but that’s mainly because some lenders only have 3 & 5 year fixed rates. In fact PTSB only beats the other two lenders EBS and Bank of Ireland as their 4 year products still have cash back.
The reason the APRC, and therefore the cost of the mortgage, are so high for PTSB isn’t in fact the cash back element, but the very high follow on rate after the introductory period as you can see in the table below.
| Follow on Variable Rate | Avant Money | ICS Mortgages | Finance Ireland | Haven Mortgages | AIB Mortgage | MoCo | EBS Mortgage | Permanent TSB | Bank of Ireland |
| Up to 50% LTV | 3.75% | 6.20% | 6.40% | 3.75% | 3.75% | 5.20% | 4.15% | 4.40% | 4.15% |
| Up to 60% LTV | 3.75% | 5.95% | 6.20% | 3.95% | 3.95% | 5.20% | 4.15% | 4.50% | 4.15% |
| Up to 70% LTV | 3.75% | 6.95% | 6.20% | 3.95% | 3.95% | 5.20% | 4.15% | 4.50% | 4.15% |
| Up to 80% LTV | 3.95% | 6.20% | 6.20% | 4.15% | 3.95% | 5.20% | 4.15% | 4.70% | 4.15% |
| Up to 90% LTV | 3.95% | 6.20% | 5.15% | 4.15% | 4.15% | 5.20% | 4.15% | 4.70% | 4.15% |
Permanent TSB Mortgage Comparison High Value Mortgage and Green Mortgage
Permanent TSB is targeting also both high value and green mortgages so is offering better introductory rates in those cases. If you are buying new the chances are that your home qualifies for both, which makes Permanent TSB’s introductory rate one of the best on the market, but be careful.
The APRC on these rates is still pretty high as you can see in the table below which compares the market with the special discounts for high value and green mortgages included.
| APRC | Avant Mortgage | ICS Mortgages | Finance Ireland | Haven Mortgages | AIB Mortgage | EBS Mortgage | Permanent TSB | Bank of Ireland |
| 3 Yr | 4.05% | 6.43% | 6.26% | 4.50% | 4.46% | 4.60% | 4.66% | 4.50% |
| 4 Yr | 3.98% | – | – | 4.00%* | 4.42%* | 4.00%* | 4.57% | 4.00%* |
| 5 Yr | 4.05% | 6.26% | 7.42% | 4.60% | 4.01%* | 4.80% | 4.64%* | 4.50%* |
| 7 Yr | 4.05% | – | – | 4.90% | 4.90% | – | 5.13% | 4.10%* |
PTSB Mortgage Cash Back
So if the non cash back offer isn’t a great deal, how does the cash back offer stack up?
Cash back can come in really handy to pay solicitor fees etc.. and the first few years after moving in are when you are often most hard pressed financially.
| Compare Cash back | Cash back Min | Cash back Max | Cash back Conditions |
| MoCo | 1% | 1% | Switcher |
| Haven Mortgages | €3,000 | €5,000 | Switcher, €5,000=>€250,000 not 4yr green rate |
| AIB Mortgage | €0 | €2,000 | Switcher Only |
| Permanent TSB | 0% | 2% | 2% not available to 4 year fixed term. |
| EBS Mortgage | 2% | 3% | 2% on drawdown 1% after 5 years. |
| Bank of Ireland | 2% | 3% | 2% on drawdown 1% after 5 years. |
Rates updated 26/05/23
PTSB also offer a 2% discount on each repayment for the next 5 years if you have the Explorer current account, but this discount isn’t worth very much in real terms.
In fact the whole cash back thing is a bit of a rip off in our view, to give a quick example.
If you take an average mortgage loan of €200,000 over 25 years, at a loan to value of 80% with a PTSB 3 year fixed rate you will pay €1,019 on average per month, with Avant Money’s 3 year product that would be €870 a month, €149 a month cheaper.
So over 25 years that’s €44,788 less than with PTSB in interest.
The cash back on the other hand is worth
- 2% of each repayment until 2027 = €1,223
- 2% of the €200,000 = €4,000
- A total of €5,223
That’s over €39,000 more expensive….
If you don’t need the cash back to cover legal fees etc.. then we would recommend the Avant Money, however if you do then Haven are the best of the rest. Based on current rates they offer a lot better value than EBS, Permanent TSB and Bank of Ireland which also offer cash back.
Pro’s & Con’s – Permanent TSB Mortgage Ireland 2024
Pro’s
- Good cash back offering
Con’s
- Avant Money, AIB & Haven offer better fixed rates
- Follow on rates are some of the highest in the market
Recommendation – Permanent TSB Mortgage Ireland 2024
Due to the uncompetitive introductory and follow rates the only reason to get a PTSB Mortgage right now would be if you are considering switching multiple times to cash in on the cash back before switching out to avoid the super high follow on rates. We don’t recommend this option though as we have covered in our switching article here.
| Rank | Mortgage Product | Rate Value | Repayment Security | Ease of Approval | Approval Speed | Overall Rating |
| #1. | Avant Money Mortgage 10-30 Yr Fixed | 4.25 | 5.0 | 4.0 | 5.0 | 4.58 |
| #2. | Avant Money Mortgage 7 Yr Fixed | 4.25 | 3.5 | 4.0 | 5.0 | 4.13 |
| #3. | Haven Mortgage 10 Yr Fixed | 3.5 | 4.0 | 3.5 | 5.0 | 3.95 |
| #4. | Avant Money Mortgage 5 Yr Fixed | 4.5 | 2.5 | 4.0 | 5.0 | 3.90 |
| #5. | Haven Mortgage 7 Yr Fixed | 4.0 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.0 | 3.55 |
Rating Weighting: Rate 30%, Security 30%, Approval 20%, Speed 20%, updated 26/09/2023
If you need a cash back option to cover legal fees we would recommend Haven as their follow on rates are much lower. If you can afford to cover the legal fees yourself though, you are better off looking at Avant Money as the long term savings will out weigh the cash back saving pretty quickly.
You can a free mortgage check up to see what provider will suit you here.
Alternatives – Permanent TSB Mortgage Ireland 2024
In a Nutshell – Permanent TSB Mortgage Ireland 2024
Although PTSB have led the mortgage market on value in the past, right now the new market entrants are a much better deal.
True they are still much cheaper than Bank of Ireland, but even if you don’t want to use one of the new lenders AIB or their broker arm Haven offer much better value right across the board.
The reality though is the new lenders like Avant Money who are able to compete without expensive branch networks or tracker mortgages are a much better bet. If you can go with one of these lenders you should.
Avant Money, Haven (AIB), PTSB, Bank of Ireland, ICS Mortgages and Finance Ireland are available through brokers or through one our mortgage sherpas.
Next Steps – Permanent TSB Mortgage Ireland 2024
If you want to see what you could save by calculating your repayments and see all mortgage provider rates you can click here.
If you want to know more about other mortgage providers you can click here.
If you want to know more about long term fixed rate mortgages you can read our article here.
Or you can check out our handy switching mortgage guide here.
If you want to get your savings started right now, set up a free no obligation video call with a mortgage sherpa here.
