Mortgage drawdowns by first-time buyers hit their highest level since 2007 last year.
That’s according to the latest figures from Banking and Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI), which found that over 26,000 mortgages worth €7.8 billion were drawn down by this group in 2024.
In total, 40,030 mortgages were drawn down last year, valued at almost €12.6 billion. While the value of drawdowns fell slightly by 1.3% when compared to 2023, values were up by 4%.
"The drop in drawdown volumes was partially attributable to further declines in mover purchase and switching activity," said Brian Hayes, the chief executive of BPFI.
"Mover purchase volumes fell by 6.3% year on year to 9,030, the second lowest level since 2015," he added.
Average mortgage values reached their highest levels on record in all four home mortgage segments - FTB and mover purchase mortgages on new and second-hand properties.
The average FTB mortgage on new properties increased by 1.6% year on year to €321,912, while the average FTB mortgage on second-hand properties rose by 7.4% to €283,969.
"FTB drawdown volumes grew by 2.5% year on year while values rose by 8.4%," Mr Hayes said.
"Almost 119,000 FTB mortgages have been drawn down in the past five years.
"It's particularly encouraging to see strong growth in FTB mortgages on new property purchases or self-builds which reached their highest annual volume and value since 2008 and 2007, respectively," said Mr Hayes.
Looking ahead for 2025, the BPFI expects strong housing and mortgage demand to continue.
"The potential mortgage output for 2025 looks encouraging, evident from the solid growth in mortgage approvals activity," Mr Hayes said.
"However, while we have seen housing output increase significantly in recent years, it will be crucial for both new and second-hand housing supply to increase to meet this demand.
"Housing commencement activity exceeded 60,000 units in 2024, but it remains to be seen how quickly new housing will be delivered in the months ahead and how much will be made available for private purchase," he added.
The latest figures show that a total of 51,337 mortgages were approved last year, valued at more than €15.3 billion.
Approval volumes rose by 2.9% year on year while values rose by 8.2%.
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