Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The latest data published on 29 September 2023 by the Banking & Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI) for August 2023 shows that a total of 4,534 mortgages were approved in August 2023. First-time buyers (FTBs) were approved for 2,829 mortgages (62.4% of total volume) while mover purchasers accounted for 1,029 (22.7%).

The BPFI noted that first-time buyer (FTB) mortgage approvals grew strongly on a year-on-year basis in August 2023 with volumes up 14.1% to 2,829 and values up 21.8% to €820 million.

The number of mortgages approved fell by 4.5% month-on-month and by 18.2% compared with the same period last year. Mortgages approved in August were valued at €1,302 million – of which FTBs accounted for €820 million (62.9%) and mover purchasers for €346 million (26.5%). The value of mortgage approvals fell by 3.9% month-on-month and fell by 14.2% year-on-year.

FTBs continue to dominate the market with FTB mortgage approval values reaching more than €8.5 billion in the twelve months ending August 2023, while the annualised number of FTB mortgage approvals exceeded 30,000 (30,103) for the first time since 2011. This suggests that the demand for home purchase drawdowns remains very strong.