Drawdowns have doubled in size over the last 10 years while switching activity has also increased strongly
This was driven by significant increases in the drawdowns on second-hand homes.
The average first-time buyer mortgage on a second-hand property passed the €300,000 mark for the first time.
At €302,018, it represented an increase of almost 10pc year on year.
This is almost double the average drawdown that was being recorded in the first quarter of 2014, when the property market was emerging from the financial crash.
Brian Hayes, chief executive of BPFI, said the mortgage figures reflected trends in housing prices, and said that the average mover-purchase mortgage on second-hand properties also increased, up by 9.6pc to a new high of €370,790.
The figures are a further illustration of the continuing inflation in the market. According to a report last week by Geowoz, a data technology company, the price of an Irish home was up 9.8pc on average in the first quarter of 2025 compared to the same period last year.
The median price for a home was €360,000, up by €32,000 in just a year.
Mortgage activity continued to be brisk in the first quarter, with drawdowns up more than 10pc in number and by almost 20pc in value, according to the BPFI data.
A total of 9,190 new mortgages were drawn down, with a value of €2.8bn.
First-time buyers remained the single largest segment by volume, at almost 58pc, and also by value, at just over 59pc.
However, switching activity increased strongly, with re-mortgaging volumes up almost 19pc year-on-year.
Today’s News in 90 Seconds – April 29th
A total of 4,492 mortgages were approved in March, with 2,736 of these for first-time buyers. Mover purchasers accounted for 848 of them – a markedly higher level of activity than in recent times, representing an increase of almost 19pc year on year.
Switching activity also grew strongly in Q1
The total value of mortgages approved was just over €1.4bn, with first-time buyers accounting for €891m of this, or 62.4pc of the total.
This compared to €322m or 22.5pc for mover purchasers.
Mr Hayes said: “The latest data shows that mortgage activity remains strong, with 9,190 mortgage drawdowns in Q1, valued at €2,807m.
“This represents a rise in volume of 10.3pc year on year and of 19.1pc in value over the same period.
“In fact, all mortgage-customer segments grew year on year with first-time buyer and mover purchase mortgage drawdown values reaching their highest Q1 levels since 2007 and 2008, respectively.
“Switching activity also grew strongly in Q1, with switcher mortgage volumes increasing by 18.7pc year on year to 1,166. This accounted for 12.7pc of all drawdown volumes, the highest share since Q1 of 2023.”
Overall there were 52,021 mortgage approvals in the year to the end of March, with a value of €15.8bn. The annualised value was also at the highest level since the data series began, at more than €13.8bn in that period.
First-time-buyer approval volumes also set a new record, with 31,759 mortgages valued at almost €9.9bn.
Residential investment letting mortgage drawdown volumes increased by 24pc year on year in the first quarter to 164.
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