First-time buyers make up almost 60% of new mortgage approvals, showing there is still ‘massive demand’ to buy a home, writes Christian McCashin.
Of almost 5,700 mortgages approved by banks and other lenders in May, first-time buyers were approved for 3,361.
Mover-purchasers accounted for 1,044, just over 18%, and the balance was mostly made up of people remortgaging and property investors.
The latest mortgage approvals report for May from the Banking and Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI) shows:
The number of mortgages approved, 5,694, rose by 13% year-on-year;
Mortgages worth €1,878 million were approved, with first-time buyers accounting for almost 60%, worth €1.12 billion, and mover-purchasers for €426 million, or almost 23%;
The total value of mortgage approvals rose by almost 17% year-on-year;
Remortgage/switching activity rose by more than 33% in volume terms year-on-year.
BPFI chief Brian Hayes said: “Today’s figures show strong growth in mortgage approval activity in May...
"First-time buyer activity remains the key driver of the market, reaching its highest levels since the data series began.
“While mover-purchase lending also grew, it accounted for only 18.3% of mortgage approval volumes, a historically low share of activity for the month of May.”
Mr Hayes added: “Overall, the figures point to a robust pipeline for mortgage lending in the months ahead, underpinned by continued demand from first-time buyers and increased activity across switching and top-up lending.
“However, the continued low share of mover-purchase activity points to ongoing constraints on mobility in the market.’
