Mortgage approvals reached record levels in the past 12 months, rising to €14.1 billion driven by a 17.8 per cent year-on-year increase in mortgage values.
In the past year, first-time buyers were collectively approved for €10.1 billion in home loans, and they accounted for nearly two-thirds – 62.5 per cent – of all mortgages approved in May, according to new figures from the Banking and Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI).
Mortgages approved in May amounted to €1.6 billion across 5,038 total approvals. In addition to €1 billion from first-time buyers, mover purchasers accounted for €364 million in mortgages, 22.6 per cent of those approved in the period. The growth was driven by a 7.1 per cent growth in the number and value of mortgages month on month.
The number of home mortgage approvals in the past year exceeded 43,000 for the first time since the lobby group began collecting the data. A total of 43,070 mortgages were approved in the 12 months ending in May.
There was strong growth in switching or remortgage approvals in the past month – up 66.9 per cent – as well as growth in top-up approvals which rose 13.3 per cent year on year, but just 57 residential investment letting mortgages were approved – down 18.6 per cent.
The average mortgage approval value hit a new record of €319,000 the month prior, in April 2025, as figures from the Central Statistics Office show house prices in Ireland grew at an average annual rate of 7.5 per cent in April.
A report from estate agent DNG indicated that the average price of a second-hand home in Dublin has reached €600,047, according to a new report from estate agent DNG.
It comes amid ongoing supply shortages and surging demand fuelled by Government incentives and expectations of further interest rate cuts.
The chief executive of BPFI, Brian Hayes, said mortgage approval figures “show continued growth in May” noting that home mortgage activity had “climbed to new heights”.
“The value of approved home mortgages exceeded €14 billion for the first time, with more than €14.1 billion in home mortgage approvals,” Mr Hayes said.
He said first-time buyers “continued to dominate with 32,118 mortgage approvals valued at more than €10.1 billion over the same period”.
Mortgage switching approvals reached their highest monthly levels in May since January 2023 following an increase of 66.9 per cent in volume and a 94.9 per cent just in value year on year.
Mr Hayes noted this was an increase on a “relatively low base” but said it returned the activity level to “historically typical levels” following “a sharp peak in activity in 2022 and subsequent slowdown”.
