New mortgage approvals rise 14% in April

The number of mortgage approvals rose more than 14 per cent in the year to the end of April, new figures from Banking & Payments Federation Ireland show.

The value of mortgages was up almost 20 per cent in the year, and 10.4 per cent compared to March, the figures showed.

A total of 3,751 mortgages were approved in April, with almost half granted to first-time buyers. Mover purchasers, meanwhile, accounted for 29 per cent of the monthly total.

However, first-time buyer mortgage approval volumes were down 1.1 per cent over the year, with mover purchase approval volumes increasing by 15.4 per cent.

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Residential investment letting mortgage approvals rose to 168 during April, a rise of 27.3 per cent in volume compared with the same month in 2017.

First-time buyers

Meanwhile, consumers were hunting down better value, with re-mortgage and switching approvals rising 103.5 per cent in volume terms to 485.

In total, there were 3,031 purchase mortgage approvals worth €705 million in April 2018.

The figures showed the total value of mortgages approved in the month was about €842 million, with €400 million going to first-time buyers and €281 million to movers. Remortgaging and switchers were worth €116 million, while top-up approvals of €21 million represented a rise of 60.4 per cent year-on-year. Buy to lets totalled €25 million.

Rising property prices were reflected in the yearly figures, with the average home purchase approval up almost 6 per cent to €237,732.

First-time buyers were approved for mortgages worth an average of €225,000, a rise of 7.7 per cent, with the average mover purchase approval at €258,533, an increase of 1.7 per cent year on year.

The figures came as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development warned of another potential property bubble amid rising house prices and rapid credit growth.