A total of 21,232 mortgages were drawn down by homebuyers in the first half of 2026, valued at almost €6.8 billion.
That’s according to the latest Mortgage Drawdowns Report from Banking & Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI).
The report found that the value of first-time buyer mortgage drawdowns rose by 10.5% year on year to €4.1 billion, the highest H1 level since the data series began in 2003.
Meanwhile, the annualised value of mortgage approvals reached €17.6 billion in the twelve months ending June 2026, the highest level since the data series began in 2011.
The half year tally includes 11,795 mortgages to the value of €3,747 million which were drawn down by borrowers during the second quarter of 2026.
This represents an increase of 7.4% in volume and 11.1% in value on the corresponding second quarter of 2025.
A comparison with the first quarter of the year shows increases of 25% in volume and 23.5% in value.
First-time buyers remained the single largest segment by volume (58.8%) and by value (60.3%) while re-mortgage/switching volumes and values increased by 13.6% and 24.8% year on year respectively.
BPFI also published their Mortgage Approvals Report for June 2026 this week. It found that a total of 5,631 mortgages were approved in June 2026 – some 3,304 were for first-time buyers (58.7% of total volume), while mover purchasers accounted for 1,062 (18.9%).
The number of mortgages approved in June fell by 1.1% month-on-month and rose by 15.3% year-on-year.
Mortgages approved in June 2026 were valued at €1,864 million – of which first-time buyers accounted for €1,112 million (59.6%) and €416 million by mover purchasers (22.3%).
The value of mortgage approvals fell by 0.7% month-on-month and rose by 19.7% year-on-year while re-mortgage/switching activity rose by 49.2% year on year in volume terms and by 65.8% in value in the same period.
Speaking on the publication of the reports, Brian Hayes, Chief Executive, BPFI said: “
“Growth in the second quarter was driven primarily by first-time buyers, with 6,941 FTB drawdowns valued at almost €2.3 billion. These were the highest second-quarter first-time buyer values since the data series began in 2003.
“Mover purchase activity picked up in Q2 2026 with values up 4% year on year to €788 million, the highest second-quarter level since 2008. Quarterly activity rose across most segments (except RIL) compared with Q1 2026, reflecting seasonal patterns, with Q1 typically the quietest period of the year for drawdowns.”
Turning to property types, Mr Hayes continued: “New properties, including self-builds, accounted for almost 40% (38.6%) of home purchase mortgage drawdowns (first-time buyers and mover purchasers) in Q2 2026, up from 37% in Q2 2025. In fact, home mortgage drawdowns on new properties reached the highest Q2 levels since 2008, up 10.2% in volume and 14.9% in value year-on-year. This increase was driven mainly by first-time buyer mortgages on new properties, which rose in volume by 13.4% to 2,979 and by 19.5% in value to more than €1 billion (€1,040 million), the highest Q2 value since 2007.
“There were 5,499 home mortgage drawdowns on second-hand properties, valued at over €1.8 billion, in Q2 2026. In year-on-year terms, drawdown volumes on second-hand properties rose by 2.9% while drawdown values rose by 4.8%. This was the first time since Q1 2025 that the volume of mortgages on second-hand properties had risen in year-on-year terms. The value of first-time buyer mortgages on second-hand properties rose by 3.2% to over €1.2 billion (€1,220 million) in Q2 2026, the highest Q2 level since the data series began in 2005.”
Focusing on the most recent mortgage approvals, Mr Hayes continued: “Approvals activity increased in June, with volumes rising year on year by 15.3% and values rising 19.7%. On an annualised basis, the value of mortgage approvals reached a new high of €17.6 billion in the twelve months ending June 2026.
“The volume and value of first-time buyer approvals both reached new highs on an annualised basis, with 33,011 FTB approvals valued at more than €10.8 billion over the same period.
“Notably, switching activity has also grown significantly in recent months with drawdown values increasing by 24.8% year on year to €525 million in Q2 2026 and approval value up by 65.8% year in year to €258 million in June.”
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