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FTB mortgage figures hit record level

Figures from the main banks show that mortgage activity grew again in October compared with the same month last year.

Banking Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI) said that banks approved 4,829 mortgages during October, with first-time buyers (FTBs) accounting for just over 60% of the total.

The number of mortgages approved rose by 8.6% from September and by 13% compared with October last year.

Value figure jumps 22%

Mortgages approved in October were worth just under €1.5 billion, with just under 63% of this amount linked to FTBs.

The value of mortgage approvals increased by just over 11% month-on-month and jumped by more than 22% year-on-year.

Re-mortgaging and switching activity in October rose by 22.4% in volume terms and 40.9% in value year-on-year.

Switching activity up

BPFI chief executive Brian Hayes said that FTB mortgage approvals had reached the highest year-to-date levels on record for both volumes and values in October 2024.

“Volumes rose to almost 27,000 (26,699) during the first ten months of the year, while the value of FTB approvals exceeded €8.1 billion, more than double the level in the same period of 2017,” he stated.

Hayes added that the organisation was seeing “an upward trajectory” in switching activity, with the volume of activity in this category in October rising to the highest monthly level since January 2023.