This is the highest number in almost 20 years, according to the Banking and Payments Federation of Ireland
More than 27,000 new-buyer mortgages were drawn down in the year to end of September.
This is the highest annualised number since 2007, according to the Banking and Payments Federation of Ireland (BPFI).
First-time buyers continue to be the most active segment in the market, accounting for six out of 10 mortgage drawdowns in that period, during which close to 46,000 mortgages were drawn down.
New properties, which include self-builds, accounted for more than a third of first-time buyer and mover-purchase mortgages in the three months to September.
The figures show that 12,570 new mortgages, with a total value of €3.9bn, were drawn down by borrowers during the third quarter of this year – an increase of almost 8pc in the number of drawdowns in the same period last year.
The value of drawdowns is up almost 17pc, reflecting rising property prices.
These are the second-highest values since the BPFI started collecting data in 2003.
AIB Group has reduced mortgage rates
Remortgage and switching volumes increased by 35pc in the year.
Meanwhile, interest rates have been reduced on mortgages offered by AIB, EBS and Haven.
Brokers said the decreases were overdue, as the rates the group charges on mortgages for those who do not have energy-efficiency homes is far higher than it charges those with good energy ratings.
AIB’s five-year fixed rate for non-green mortgages is being reduced by 0.65 percentage points.
All other AIB non-green fixed rates are also coming down.
The reductions are effective from this week.
The cuts apply to new customers and to existing borrowers
The green four-year fixed rate at EBS, which is part of the AIB Group, is coming down by 0.35 percentage points.
This follows recent non-green reductions.
Haven, which is the broker-focused unit of AIB, will have non-green rates that are up to 0.35 percentage points lower.
The cuts apply to new customers and to existing borrowers with the group who are coming off fixed rates or want to move from a variable rate to the lower fixed rates.
Bank executives said the reductions reflect AIB Group’s commitment to delivering value for customers across a variety of mortgage products, whether their home qualifies for a green mortgage or not.
It said these latest reductions follow several cuts to green mortgage rates by AIB Group, as well as non-green rate cuts by EBS and green rate cuts by Haven earlier this year.
After the cuts, the monthly repayment on a new €300,000 AIB one-year fixed rate mortgage with a loan-to-value of greater than 80pc over a 25-year term will be €1,500.
The previous monthly repayment would have been €1,606, representing a saving of €106 a month.
Over a year, this works out at a reduction of €1,272 in repayments.
AIB will have rates as low as 3.3pc, with EBS down to 3.2pc.
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