IT could be years before the mortgage market recovers, economists said yesterday. They were reacting to new figures that showed just a trickle of new home loans were issued between April and June. Mortgage lending has seized up, with just 3,550 new mortgages granted in April, May and June. This is half the number issued in the same quarter a year ago, and a fraction of the 41,000 issued in the same three-month period in 2007, figures from the Irish Banking Federation show. Housing economist David Duffy, of the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), said the mortgage market is unlikely to recover until consumers had some certainty about the financial hit they are set to take in December's Budget. "We are looking at a fairly weak market this year and next year unless something big happens which can bring about certainty," Dr Duffy said. Uncertainty around the global economy is also holding back buyers from committing to a massive purchase like a house. ...
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