The overall number of mortgage arrears cases has declined by 44 per cent since 2013Q2. Almost half of mortgage arrears cases are in very long term arrears. Turning now to the Irish commercial real estate (CRE) market, 2016 continued to see high total returns. The commercial property vacancy rate was 13.5 per cent in 2016Q4.
It complicates the duty to explain but makes convincing explanations even more critical to the credibility and effectiveness of policy.