First Time Buyer Mortgage Approvals hit Record High

Mortgage approvals for first-time buyers have hit a record annualised high in February according to figures from the Banking and Payments Federation of Ireland (BPFI). The information shows that in the year to the end of last month, first time buyers were given approval for mortgages worth a total of almost €9 billion. This represents almost 60% of total mortgages approved in the period. Overall, there is a 6% increase in total approvals on February 2023 and a gain of almost 10% versus the previous month, January 2024.
“Our latest report shows that the mortgage market regained positive momentum in February with 6% year-on-year growth in mortgage approval volumes and 7% year-on-year growth in approval values,” said Brian Hayes, chief executive of BPFI.
“First-time buyers continued to drive the market, with 2,171 FTB mortgages approved in February valued at €640m, a jump of 14.7% and 19.8% year on year in volume and value terms and the highest February levels since the data series began in 2011,” he said.
Shane Breheny of Oates Breheny Group commented “the trend isn’t surprising as we see a lot of activity in this area currently. We have had an extremely busy start to the year with mortgage approvals, especially first-time buyers. We are finding that as a broker we are always able to build a suitable mortgage plan to gain prompt approval for our clients.”
The report also shows that re-mortgaging or switching activity rose by 0.5% in volume terms year-on-year and fell by 10.7% in value in the same period.
To discuss your mortgage situation or application, contact us on 071 9194194 or email us at mortgages@obg.ie