Average first-time buyer mortgage approval increased by 8.3% year on year to €319,161.
First-time buyers accounted for 60.4% of mortgage approvals in November, according to new data from Banking & Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI).
According to the data a total of 4,400 mortgages were approved in November 2024, with first-time buyers (FTBs) approved for 2,657 mortgages while mover purchasers accounted for 952 mortgages.
“Strong approvals activity in the past year has resulted in a healthy pipeline for mortgage drawdowns in the months ahead”
The number of mortgages approved fell by 8.9% month-on-month but rose by 4.7% compared with the same period last year.
Getting the keys
BPFI said the value of mortgage approvals fell by 8.0% month-on-month and rose by 13.0% year-on-year.
Re-mortgage/switching activity rose by 26.5% in volume terms year-on-year and by 36.3% in value in the same period.
“Today’s figures reveal that FTB mortgage approvals have again reached record highs, both in terms of volume and value,” said BPFI CEO Brian Hayes. “FTB volumes rose to almost 31,000 (30,967) in the twelve months ending November 2024, while the value of FTB approvals was almost €9.5bn.
“Looking more closely at the monthly figures, the report shows that there were 4,400 mortgage approvals, valued at €1.3bn in November 2024, with first-time buyers (FTBs) accounting for 60.4% of the total volume and 62.1% of the value.
“The average FTB mortgage rose by 8.3%, or more than €24,000, year on year in November 2024 to a new high of €319,161, reflecting strong growth in residential property prices.
“While mover purchasers continue to account for a smaller share of approval activity with a quarter (24.8%) of the value of mortgages approved in November, they reached their highest year-to-date values since the data series began in 2011, at almost €3.6bn.”
“Looking forward, approvals activity tends to slow down between December and February but the strong approvals activity in the past year has resulted in a healthy pipeline for mortgage drawdowns in the months ahead.”
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