Irish mortgage approvals in 2012 rose to the 1972 level, according to new information from the Irish Banking Federation.
There were 17,786 approvals in 2012 compared with 19,188 in 1972.
The IBF Mortgage Approvals Report shows that a total of 1,446 mortgages were approved by lenders here during December 2012 to the value of €234m. This represents a volume increase of 29.6% and a value increase of 29.3% over the same month in 2011. The month-on-month picture shows a reduction in the numbers - most likely due to December being a shorter than normal working month and a front-loading of activity into November ahead of the ending of mortgage interest relief.
The vast majority (92%) of the 1,446 mortgage approvals was for property purchase, which itself showed a year-on-year increase of over 40%; the balance of approvals was for re-mortgages and top ups.
Commenting on the data, IBF’s director of public affairs, Felix O’Regan, said: “As the IBF Mortgage Approvals Report is a lead indicator of future mortgage market activity, we expect this evidence of renewed activity to be reflected in the actual mortgage drawdown figures for Q4 2012 when the IBF/PwC Mortgage Market Profile is published in February.”
