Nearly 12,000 such mortgages were drawn down in the first half of this year, the highest number since 2007, figures from the Banking and Payments Federation Ireland show.
They were valued at more than €3.7bn, a level last seen in 2006.
Today’s News in 90 Seconds – July 25th
Banks said the average home mortgage value hit a record level at almost €331,000 up to last month, nearly €28,000 higher than in the second quarter of last year.
Average mortgage amounts on second-hand properties jumped by more than €29,000 to €324,688 in the four quarters to last month.
The average home mortgage on new properties was almost €24,000 higher at €341,063.
Switching activity jumped by 42pc in volume the first half of the year.
All customer segments had grown year on year, but first-time buyers continue to dominate
First-time buyers remain the single largest segment in terms of the number of mortgages drawn down in the first half of this year.
Banking and Payments Federation chief executive Brian Hayes said that, overall, there had been almost €6.2bn in mortgage drawdowns in the first half of this year, up nearly 19pc on the same period last year.
It is the highest value of first-half drawdowns since 2008.
The total number of mortgages issued by lenders was up 10pc to 20,195.
Mr Hayes said all customer segments had grown year on year, but first-time buyers continue to dominate, with 11,803 mortgages drawn down and valued at over €3.7bn.
A total of 2,660 switcher mortgages were issued in the first half of the year, a rise of 42pc.
The value of switcher mortgages reached €732m, the third-highest level for the first half of a year since 2008.
Figures showed housing demand from first-time buyers remains strong. Photo: Getty
“This signals a normalisation of switching trends following a sharp peak in activity in 2022 and subsequent slowdown,” Mr Hayes said.
New properties, including self-build, accounted for more than a third of home-purchase mortgage drawdowns in the first half of the year.
The banking federation also published mortgage approval figures for June.
A total of 4,883 mortgages were approved last month; 2,920 were for first-time buyers, representing 60pc of the total.
Mover-buyers accounted for 992 approvals, or 20pc.
Mortgages approved in June were worth €1.56bn, with first-time buyers accounting for €1bn
The number of mortgages approved in June fell by 3.1pc month on month, but it rose by 9pc on the year.
Mortgages approved in June were valued at €1.56bn, with first-time buyers accounting for close to €1bn.
Mr Hayes said that in the first half of the year the number of first-time buyer approvals was up by 5.4pc to 15,736. This is the highest first half of a year level since the data series began in 2011.
Mover-buyer approval volumes fell for the fourth year in a row to 4,990.
Housing demand from first-time buyers remains strong. There were 22,903 Help to Buy applications in the first half of 2025, according to the Revenue Commissioners.
This was nearly 41pc more than in the first half of last year, Mr Hayes said.
source