The Daily Star Ireland
In October, the number of new mortgages approved rose by 8.6% compared to the previous month, with a total of 4,829 approvals. This marked a 13% increase from the same month last year.
According to the latest data from the Banking and Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI), nearly two-thirds of these approvals were for first-time buyers.
Brian Hayes, BPFI’s CEO, highlighted that first-time buyer mortgage approvals reached record highs in both volume and value in October 2024. In the first ten months of the year, almost 27,000 first-time buyer mortgages were approved, with their total value surpassing €8.1 billion, more than double the amount in the same period of 2017.
Mover purchasers accounted for about 21% of approvals. Although their share of the overall mortgage activity was smaller, the value of their mortgages reached €3.3 billion, the highest year-to-date total since 2011.
The total value of all mortgages approved in October was €1.48 billion, reflecting an 11.6% increase from the previous month and a 22.1% rise from the same month last year. Of this, €930 million was allocated to first-time buyer loans, and €368 million went to mover purchasers.
There was also a noticeable increase in switching activity, with the number of mortgages switched rising by 22.4% compared to October 2023. In total, 453 switching mortgages were approved, amounting to €123 million, the highest monthly level since January 2023.
