Banking & Payments Federation Ireland predicts 2023 housing and mortgage demand will remain strong despite the challenging economic environment.
A total of 52,634 mortgages to a value of €14.1bn were drawn down in 2022, according to new data from the Banking & Payments Federation’s (BPFI) Mortgage Drawdowns Report for Q4 2022 and the BPFI Mortgage Approvals Report for December 2022.
According to the data, a total of 15,888 new mortgages to the value of €4,353 million were drawn down by borrowers during the fourth quarter of 2022.
“Drawdown volumes rose by 21% to 52,634 while values rose by 34.3% to almost €14.1bn. These were the highest levels since 2008”
This represents an increase of 19.5% in volume and 31.5% in value on the corresponding fourth quarter of 2021.
A strong year for first-time buyers
A comparison with the previous quarter (Q3 2022) shows an increase of 7% in volume and 7.3% in value.
First-time buyers (FTBs) remained the single largest segment by volume (46.8%) and by value (46.2%).
Year-on-year drawdown volumes rose by 21% to 52,634 while values rose by 34.3% to almost €14.1 billion. These were the highest levels since 2008.
In December a total of 3,635 mortgages were approved in December 2022 – some 1,789 were for FTBs (49.2%) of total volume) while mover purchasers accounted for 798 (22.0%).
“BPFI’s latest mortgage data which provides an annual picture for 2022, shows significant numbers of both drawdowns and approvals and a particularly strong year for First Time Buyers,” said BPFI chief executive Brian Hayes.
“Drawdown volumes rose by 21% to 52,634 while values rose by 34.3% to almost €14.1bn. These were the highest levels since 2008. At a segment level, FTBs continue to drive the growth with FTB volumes at their highest level since 2007 and 26.3% higher than in 2008. By contrast, mover purchase volumes were 47.3% lower than in 2008.”
“In annual terms, approvals volumes reached 58,276 in 2022, up 9.3% on 2021, largely driven by the growth in non-purchase approvals. The value of approvals jumped by 17.9% to €15.9 billion. These are the highest levels recorded since the data series began in 2011.”
Hayes added: “Looking to the year ahead, we expect housing and mortgage demand to remain strong despite the challenging economic environment. Almost 108,000 FTB loans have been drawn down in the past five years and lenders will continue to support customers as they seek to buy or build a home.
