Banking & Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI) has published the latest figures from the BPFI Mortgage Approvals Report for September 2020 and BPFI Mortgage Drawdowns Report for Q3 2020.

The following are the key figures from the BPFI Mortgage Approvals Report for September 2020:

• A total of 4,621 mortgages were approved in September 2020 – some 2,636 were for FTBs (57%) of total volume) while mover purchasers accounted for 1,191(25.8%).
• The number of mortgages approved in September rose by 19.3% month-on-month and 20.8% year-on-year.
• Mortgages approved in September 2020 were valued at €1,121 million – of which FTBs accounted for €647 million (57.8%) and €326 million by mover purchasers (29.1%).
• The value of mortgage approvals rose by 18.5% month-on-month and by 34.6% year-on-year.

In addition, BPFI also published today the latest figures from the Mortgage Drawdowns Report for Q3 2020. The following are the key elements:

• 8,220 new mortgages to the value of €1,957 million were drawn down by borrowers during the third quarter of 2020.
• This represents a fall of 30.3% in volume and 25.8% in value on the corresponding third quarter of 2019. 
• A comparison with the previous quarter (Q2 2020) shows an increase of 24.1% in volume and 33.8% in value.
• First-time buyers (FTBs) remained the single largest segment by volume (51.3%) and by value (52.9%). 

Speaking on the publication of the data, Brian Hayes, Chief Executive, BPFI said: “This latest set of figures shows a significant increase in mortgage approvals in September with mortgage activity up over 20% on this time last year in volume terms and over 34% in value terms. The increase reflects the relaxation of the Covid-19 restrictions during the summer month but also demonstrates an encouraging level of resilience in the market.

The drawdown figures however show another difficult quarter in Q3 2020. It should be noted however that the year-on-year decline is less than the decline we saw in the second quarter of this year. Additionally, the increased activity in mortgage approvals we’ve seen in September is encouraging and provides a much improved pipeline for drawdowns in the months ahead. It remains to be seen however what impact the latest Covid 19 public health measures with restricted economic activity is likely to have on prospective homebuyers and the mortgage market.”

The BPFI Mortgage Drawdowns and Mortgage Approvals reports are attahced above can be viewed on the BPFI website here. 

BPFI