The average number of mortgage approvals fell by 10.2% to 2,133 between November and January, according to latest data from the Banking & Payments Federation Ireland.
Of the approvals, 50% were for first-time buyers, while mover purchasers accounted for 29.5% of the average figure.
Both re-mortgage and top-up mortgage approvals grew year-on-year, with re-mortgage (or switching) volumes more than doubling.
BPFI figures also indicate that the number of mortgages approved fell by 14.7% year-on-year and by 10.2% on a monthly basis.
Meanwhile, the average value of mortgages approved per month in the three months ending January 2016 was €406m – of which €190m was accounted for by first-time buyers and €151m by mover purchasers.
The value of mortgage approvals fell by 13.6% year-on-year and by 9.4% month-on-month.
