Mortgage approvals topped €1 billion in July, according to new figures from the lenders industry group.
It is the first time since the Banking and Payments Federation Ireland started collecting loans data in 2011 that the billion euro level has been breached for new house purchase loans in a single month.
While the June data did show overall lending approvals of €1.032 million, that included €108,000 of remortgaged loans or loans switched between lenders as well as €23,000 in top-up loans. Lending for property purchases in June was €900,000.
First-time buyers continue to dominate the mortgage market, accounting for close to 52 per cent of all loans approved, and 53 per cent by value.
People borrowing to move homes accounted for about 28 per cent of all new mortgages.
New loans
In total, €1,162 million of new business was approved last month, almost 25 per cent more than in the same month last year and close to 13 per cent ahead of the figure for June. More than 5,100 new loans were approved.
Approvals for first-time buyers are over 35 per cent ahead of the same period in 2018.
In line with recent trends, lending for residential investment remains around 20 per cent lower than the year ago figure, although it was notably stronger than in June.
Commenting on the figures, BPFI chief executive Brian Hayes said there was notably strong growth in approvals for house purchase in July.
“These approval figures point to a good pipeline of mortgage drawdown activity,” he said. “First-time buyers continue to represent the single largest segment of the market by far, with almost 14,900 approvals valued at almost €3.5 billion in the year to date.”
