Figures from the main banks show that mortgage activity fell in June compared with the same month last year.

Banking Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI) said, however, that the volume and value of mortgage drawdowns for the second quarter (Q2) of 2024 increased compared with a year earlier.

Buyers drew down 10,110 new mortgages worth €2.85 billion in Q2 – up 2.2% in volume and 3.3% in value compared with the same quarter last year. First-time buyers (FTBs) accounted for more than 60% of the total volume and value of mortgages in Q2.

June dip

In June, however, the 4,480 mortgages approved represented a 6% annual drop, and were also down 1.7% compared with May.

FTBs accounted for 61% of volume, while mover purchasers accounted for just under 22%.

Mortgages approved in June 2024 were valued at €1.34 billion – of which FTBs accounted for almost 63% and mover purchasers for 26%.

The value of mortgage approvals fell by 1.8% month-on-month and by 1.1% year-on-year.

Re-mortgage or switching activity rose by 24% year-on-year in both volume and value terms.

Second-hand slowdown

Brian Hayes (BPFI chief executive) said that the figure for drawdowns of FTB mortgages in the latest three-month period was the highest Q2 level since 2007, and came despite an overall moderation in activity across the market.

A breakdown showed that new properties accounted for just over one-third of mortgage drawdowns in Q2 2024 – up from 30.4% in the same period last year.

“FTB mortgages on new properties increased by 19.2% to 2,404 and accounted for over 83% of home-mortgage drawdowns on new properties, indicating strong momentum on both new home-building and Government FTB incentives,” Hayes stated.

In contrast, drawdown volumes on second-hand properties decreased by 2.6% and the number of FTB mortgages on second-hand properties fell by 1.5%.