Almost 5,000 mortgages were approved in October with first-time buyers accounting for nearly two thirds, according to new figures from Banking and Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI).
The group’s latest snapshot of the mortgage market here showed a total of 4,829 mortgages, worth €1.5 billion, were approved in October.
In volume terms, this was up 8.6 per cent on the previous month and up 13 per cent compared with the same period last year.
Separate BPFI data shows that growth in mortgage drawdowns, while still positive, slowed in the third quarter.
First-time buyers were approved for 2,981 mortgages or almost two thirds (61.7 per cent) of the total mortgages approved in October
The latest figures, however, come on the back of three interest rate reductions from the European Central Bank and predictions of at least four more in the coming months, which have made mortgages cheaper.
First-time buyers were approved for 2,981 mortgages or almost two thirds (61.7 per cent) of the total mortgages approved in October while mover purchasers accounted for 1,033 (21.4 per cent).
BPFI chief executive Brian Hayes noted that first-time buyer mortgage approvals reached their highest year-to-date levels on record for both volumes and values in October.
“Volumes rose to almost 27,000 [26,699] during the first 10 months of the year, while the value of FTB approvals exceeded €8.1 billion, more than double the level in the same period of 2017,” Mr Hayes said.
First-time buyer activity is – in part – being fuelled by the two Government affordability schemes, the Help to Buy and the First Home schemes, which provide direct State support to buyers.
Commenting on the latest numbers, Martina Hennessy, chief executive of the online brokers Doddl, said: “Demand across all segments of the purchaser market is hugely strong.”
“However, the frustration for these would-be purchasers is the sustained lack of supply,” she said.
The value of mortgages approved has increased across both segments, she noted, with the average first-time buyer approval now at €311,975 and the average mover purchase mortgage now standing at €356,244, a 13 per cent year-on-year uplift.
“It is positive to see an uplift in the home-mover market which forms a large part of any functioning market. This market has been in decline since before the pandemic and reports show second-hand housing stock for sale is down by a third since the pandemic,” she said.
“Interest rate cuts are fuelling switcher activity which grew to highest levels in almost two years, with volumes up 22 per cent year on year in October,” Ms Hennessy added.
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