Banking and Payments Federation Ireland has published the latest figures from the BPFI Mortgage Approvals Report for July 2024 showing that there has been strong growth in mortgage approvals in July as volumes rise by almost 12% year on year.

Speaking on the publication of the data, Brian Hayes, Chief Executive, BPFI stated: “Our latest report shows strong growth in mortgage approval activity in July 2024 as volumes and values rose by 11.9% and 18.8% respectively, year on year. During the same period, first-time buyers (FTBs) approval volumes and values reached their highest levels since the series began in 2014, up 12.8% and 21% respectively with values topping €1 billion (€1,012 million) for the first time in a one-month period. With almost 3,300 FTB mortgages approved in July, this means that about 106 FTB mortgages were approved per day during the month.”

“Mover purchaser activity also grew in the twelve months ending July 2024, with volumes up by 7.2%, the highest monthly volume since July 2021, and values up by 11.7% to €437 million, the highest value since the series began.”

The following are the key elements from the report:

• A total of 5,313 mortgages were approved in July 2024 – first-time buyers (FTBs) were approved for 3,291 mortgages (61.9% of total volume) while mover purchasers accounted for 1,231 (23.2%).
• The number of mortgages approved rose by 18.6% month-on-month and by 11.9% compared with the same period last year.
• Mortgages approved in July were valued at €1,611 million – of which FTBs accounted for €1,012 million (62.8%) and mover purchasers for €437 million (27.1%).
• The value of mortgage approvals rose by 20.2% month-on-month and by 18.8% year-on-year.
• Re-mortgage/switching activity rose by 22.6% in volume terms year-on-year and by 27.3% in value in the same period.

Mr Hayes concluded: “Overall, the report indicates robust mortgage activity with 49,384 mortgage approvals in the twelve months ending July 2024, of which almost 31,000 (30,550) were FTB mortgages, signalling a particularly positive pipeline for FTB mortgage drawdowns. Furthermore, applications to the Revenue Commissioners for the Help to Buy scheme increased by 45% year on year in the first seven months of 2024 to almost 24,000 (23,902).”

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