Banking & Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI) has today published the latest figures from the BPFI Mortgage Drawdowns Report for Q4 2024 and the BPFI Mortgage Approvals Report for December 2024.

The following are the key figures from the Mortgage Drawdowns Report for Q4 2024:

• A total of 13,009 new mortgages to the value of €3,949 million were drawn down by borrowers during the fourth quarter of 2024.
• This represents an increase of 12.3% in volume and 20.1% in value on the corresponding fourth quarter of 2023.
• A comparison with the previous quarter (Q3 2024) shows increases of 11.5% in volume and 15.9% in value.
• First-time buyers (FTBs) remained the single largest segment by volume (61.9%) and by value (63.0%).  
• Re-mortgage/switching volumes and values increased by 36.3% and 45.1% year on year respectively. 
• A total of 43,030 mortgages were drawn down in 2024 valued at almost €12.6 billion. Drawdown volumes fell marginally by 1.3% year on year while values rose by 4.0%.

In addition, BPFI also published today the latest figures from the BPFI Mortgage Approvals Report for December 2024:

• A total of 3,592 mortgages were approved in December 2024 – some 2,140 were for FTBs (59.6% of total volume), while mover purchasers accounted for 748 (20.8%).
• The number of mortgages approved in December fell by 18.4% month-on-month and rose by 28.6% year-on-year. 
• Mortgages approved in December 2024 were valued at €1,102 million – of which FTBs accounted for €673 million (61.0%) and €270 million by mover purchasers (24.5%).
• The value of mortgage approvals fell by 19.2% month-on-month and rose by 37.9% year-on-year.
• Re-mortgage/switching activity fell by 59.9% year on year in volume terms and by 75.6% in value in the same period.
• A total of 51,337 mortgages were approved in 2024 valued at more than €15.3 billion. Approval volumes rose by 2.9% year on year while values rose by 8.2%.

Speaking on the publication of the reports, Brian Hayes, Chief Executive, BPFI said: “Our latest mortgage data, shows another strong year for first-time buyers (FTBs) who have dominated the mortgage market in recent years. While activity in the overall market was more subdued, solid growth in approvals activity points to a positive outlook for 2025 and beyond.”

“The number of FTB drawdowns reached more than 26,000 (26,242) valued at over €7.8 billion (€7,822 million) in 2024, the highest annual levels since 2007. FTB drawdown volumes grew by 2.5% year on year while values rose by 8.4%. Almost 119,000 FTB mortgages have been drawn down in the past five years. It’s particularly encouraging to see strong growth in FTB mortgages on new property purchases or self-builds which reached their highest annual volume and value since 2008 and 2007, respectively.”

“Demand for housing and mortgages remains very strong, as evidenced by the continued rise in average mortgage drawdown values. Average mortgage values reached their highest levels on record in all four home mortgage segments (FTB and mover purchase mortgages on new and secondhand properties) in 2024. The average FTB mortgage on new properties increased by 1.6% year on year to €321,912, while the average FTB mortgage on secondhand properties rose by 7.4% to €283,969.”

Mr. Hayes continued: “Looking at FTB mortgage approvals meanwhile, there were almost 31,500 (31,496) FTB mortgages, valued at more than €9.6 billion, approved in 2024. This was a rise of 3.4% and 9.4% in volume and value terms respectively, compared with 2023.”

“Overall, annual mortgage activity was more mixed, with mortgage drawdown volumes down marginally by 1.3% in 2024 to 43,030, the lowest annual volumes since 2020, while approval volumes rose by 2.9% to 51,337. The drop in drawdown volumes was partially attributable to further declines in mover purchase and switching activity. Mover purchase volumes fell by 6.3% year on year to 9,030, the second lowest level (after 2020 when Covid restrictions limited activity) since 2015.”

Mr. Hayes concluded: “Looking ahead for 2025, we expect strong housing and mortgage demand to continue. The potential mortgage output for 2025 looks encouraging, evident from the solid growth in mortgage approvals activity. However, while we have seen housing output increase significantly in recent years, it will be crucial for both new and secondhand housing supply to increase to meet this demand. Housing commencement activity exceeded 60,000 units in 2024, but it remains to be seen how quickly new housing will be delivered in the months ahead and how much will be made available for private purchase.”

BPFI