Stress in Suburbia: Counting the Costs of Ireland’s Property Crash and Mortgage Arrears Crisis

Following the 2008 financial crisis, an extensive geographic literature has examined mortgage market financialisation and its socio-spatial impacts, particularly patterns of mortgage defaults and foreclosures in US cities. However, the local geographic impacts remain under-examined in European contexts, including Ireland, limiting the ability to accurately identify the casualties of the crisis and understand the manner in which they are affected. This paper draws on quantitative survey data to examine the Irish mortgage arrears crisis in a suburban spatial context. The socio-economic and mortgage characteristics of households struggling with arrears are examined, while participants’ open-ended responses elaborate upon the drivers of arrears and impacts upon households’ quality of life. The results demonstrate the extreme distress faced by suburban mortgagors and the role of the banks’ underwriting practices in driving arrears difficulties. The research questions Ireland's model of homeownership provision, particularly as home repossessions are expected to increase through 2015 and onwards.