The number of mortgages approved in January climbed 4.1 per cent compared to the same month the year before, but first-time buyer approval volumes declined on a year-on-year basis, according to the latest update from Banking & Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI).
The total number of approvals, across the market, reached 3,395, which was down 5.5 per cent on December’s tally, notwithstanding the steady year-on-year growth.
Amid a rise in house prices the value of mortgage approvals rose for the fifth successive month in January across all segments of the market, the industry body said.
Mortgages approved in January were valued at €1.02 billion, of which first-time buyers accounted for €610 million and mover purchasers for €252 million. The value of these approvals fell 7.5 per cent month-on-month and climbed 10.9 per cent year-on-year.
The overall increase in volumes was driven by remortgage or switching activity, which rose 28.1 per cent year-on-year. That segment of the market swelled 44.5 per cent in value over the same period.
“Today’s figures show continued growth in mortgage approval activity,” said BPFI chief executive Brian Hayes. “While approval activity grew in most segments, January saw the first year-on-year decline in first-time buyer approval volumes since June 2024. In annualised terms first-time buyer volumes dropped to their second highest level since the series began at 31,452, while the value of those approvals reached a new high of almost €9.7 billion.”
Growth in mover purchase lending boosted activity in the home purchase or self-build segment, which, at 42,521, reached its highest annualised volume since the 12 months ending September 2021, Mr Hayes added.
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“While approvals activity tends to be weakest between December and February, it’s encouraging to see continued year-on-year growth in volumes which points to a healthy pipeline for mortgage drawdowns in the months ahead.”
The data was published the day after the European Central Bank lowered borrowing costs by a further quarter point – 0.25 of a percentage point – which was its sixth rate cut since July.
