More first-time buyers drew down mortgages in the first three months of the year than in any corresponding quarter since the Celtic Tiger era in 2007.
That’s according to the latest figures from Banking and Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI) in its mortgage drawdowns report for Q1 2026, as well as its mortgage approvals report for March.
The report found that a total of 9,437 new mortgages to the value of €3,034 million were drawn down by borrowers during the first quarter of 2026.
This represents an increase of 2.4% in volume and 7.8% in value on the corresponding first quarter of 2025.
First-time buyers remained the single largest segment by volume (59.6%) and by value (60.6%) with 5,626 drawdowns valued at more than €1.8 billion.
“These were the strongest first quarter first-time buyer volumes since 2007 and the highest values since 2006,” according to BPFI chief executive Brian Hayes.
Re-mortgage or switching volumes and values also increased by 3.6% and 16.7% year-on-year respectively.
In contrast, mover purchase activity remained subdued, with volumes down 9.% year-on-year to 1,768, which was the lowest first-quarter level since 2014.
New properties, including self-builds, accounted for 35.8% of all drawdowns, which was up from 31.7% the previous year. They reached their highest first quarter level since 2008, up 15.1% in volume and 22.3% in value.
“This increase was driven mainly by first-time buyer mortgages on new properties, which rose in volume by 18.3% to 2,252 and by 25.3% in value to more than €792 million, the highest first quarter value since 2007,” according to Mr Hayes.
“While the second-hand homes segment accounted for almost two-thirds of drawdowns, its share continued to contract with volumes down 4.2% and values down 0.9% year-on-year.
“This was the first time since the third quarter of 2024 that the value of mortgages on second-hand properties has fallen in year-on-year terms but the fifth consecutive quarter in which volumes have fallen.
“Indeed, drawdown volumes on second-hand properties have fallen in 10 of the past 13 quarters.”
In terms of the approval figures for March, a total of 4,482 mortgages were given the go ahead. Some 2,805 were for first-time buyers (62.6% of total volume), while mover purchasers accounted for 777 (17.3%).
The number of mortgages approved rose by 22.8% month-on-month and fell by 0.9% year-on-year.
Mortgages approved in March were valued at €1.4 billion, of which first-time buyers accounted for €935 million (64.6%), and €295 million by mover purchasers (20.4%).
The value of mortgage approvals rose by 22% month-on-month and by 0.9% year-on-year. Re-mortgage and switching activity fell by 12.9% year-on-year in volume terms and by 7% in value in the same period.
“On an annualised basis, the value of mortgage approvals reached a new high of almost €17 billion in the 12 months ending March,” said Hayes.
“The value of first-time buyer approvals reached €10.6 billion over the same period, the highest level since the series began in 2011 and more than twice the value recorded in the 12 months ending March 2019.
“By contrast, mover purchasers accounted for just 17.3% of approval volumes and 20.4% of values in March, the lowest shares since this series began in 2014,” concluded Mr Hayes.
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