Irish mortgage approvals increase by 35%

The number of mortgage approvals in Ireland rose by 35 per cent over the year to May 2017, according to new figures from the Banking & Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI).

The BPFI Mortgage Approvals Report shows 4,124 mortgages were approved in May 2017. Some 2,148 (52.1 per cent of total volume) were for first-time buyers (FTBs) while mover purchasers accounted for 1,242 (30.1 per cent). The number of mortgages approved rose by 35.4 per cent year-on-year and by 23.5 per cent month-on-month.

The value of mortgages approved in May 2017 was €884 million – of which €448 million (50.7 per cent) was accounted for by FTBs and €327 million (37.0 per cent) by mover purchasers.

The value of mortgage approvals rose by 45.1 per cent year-on-year and by 29.1 per cent month-on-month.

Re-mortgage or switching approvals grew on a year-on-year basis with activity accounting for 7.5 per cent of the value and 7.6 per cent of the volume of mortgages.