There was a fall of close to 9,000 in the number of mover-purchaser approvals in the first 10 months of the year, according to figures from the Banking and Payments Federation. This was the lowest figure for the first 10 months of any year since 2020, the banks said.
Property experts have said that a shortage of homes to buy was stopping people moving home.
On a monthly basis, mortgage approval values for mover purchasers declined in year-on-year terms for the fourth month in a row. And last month was the weakest October for mover purchase approval volumes since 2015.
First-time buyer mortgage approval numbers have held up, despite the fall-off in the numbers seeking funds to move home. For the year to October 45,509 mortgage applications were approved. These had a combined value of €14.45bn.
Banks said there has been a 38pc rise in the number of applications from homeowners who want to switch mortgage. Switcher activity levels are the highest in a first 10 months of a year since 2022, the Banking and Payments Federation said.
For the month of October, a total of 4,783 mortgages were approved. First-time buyers were approved for 2,869 mortgages, which is 60pc of the total. Mover purchasers accounted for 894 of mortgages, or nearly 19pc of the total.
The number of mortgages approved rose by 0.5pc month-on-month, but fell by 1pc compared with the same period last year. Mortgages approved in October were valued at €1.54bn. Close to €1bn of these were for first-time buyers.
First-time buyers were approved for close to 28,000 mortgages in the 10-month period.
Banking and Payments Federation chief executive Brian Hayes said the number of mortgages approved by lenders in the year to October marks the highest year-to-date volumes since 2022 and the highest values since the data series began in 2011.
Her added that the number of first-time buyers approved for a home loan in October fell when compared with last year, but the number and value of new buyer approvals in the 10 months to October increased. They hit “their highest levels since the data began, with almost 28,000 approvals, valued at almost €9bn. This was more than four times the value of mortgage approvals in the same period of 2015 [€2.24bn].”
He said that in contrast, mover purchase approval volumes dropped to 8,771 in the first 10 months of the year but mortgage-switching activity grew, with almost 5,400 switcher approvals.
Data from the Revenue Commissioners reveals that demand for the Help-to-Buy scheme continues to be very strong, with 31,608 applications in the first 10 months of the year, some 43pc more than in the same period last year.
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