Almost 16,000 new mortgages, at a value of €2.7 billion, were issued in 2012, an increase in volume of 11.3 per cent on 2011.

This marks the first year-on-year increase in the number of new mortgages issued since 2006, and is a further sign the mortgage market is stabilising. However mortgage lending remains constrained, and is far off the 204,000 mortgages issued in 2006 at a value of almost €40 million.

According to a market report from the Irish Banking Federation and PwC, first-time buyers and mover-purchasers are behind the latest increase. Together they account for about nine of every 10 new mortgages, while lending to first-time buyers has also risen.