Mortgage approvals and drawdowns continue to rise
The number of mortgages being approved and drawn down continue to rise, according to the latest figures from Banking and Payment Federation Ireland.
In the month of June, 5,203 mortgages were approved, an increase of over 11% on the previous month and a rise of almost 130% on the same month last year.
First-time buyers (FTBs) were approved for 53% of the total volume of these new mortgages, while mover purchasers accounted for just over 24%.
Today’s figures also reveal that mortgages approved in June 2021 were valued at €1.276 billion, up 10% on the previous month and 138% on June 2020.
Meanwhile, the figures from BPFI also reveal a rise in the number of new mortgages drawn down in the second quarter of the year.
9,625 new mortgages to the value of €2.2 billion were drawn down during this period – up 45% in volume and 52% in value on the same time last year.
When compared with the previous quarter, this represents an increase of 5.9% in volume and 4.1% in value.
The figures show that first-time buyers remained the single largest segment by volume, at 50.9%, and by value at 51.2%.
New properties, including self-builds, accounted for 27.8% of property purchase or build mortgages in the second quarter of the year, down from 29.1% during the same quarter in 2020.
The figures show that the value of FTB and mover purchase mortgages on secondhand properties both reached their highest second quarter levels since 2008.
Brian Hayes, Chief Executive of BPFI, said you can see the impact on Covid-19 restrictions on the types of properties on which mortgages are being drawn down.
“We can see the number of mortgage drawdowns on new properties grew 40.9% year on year in the second quarter of the year. However, mortgage drawdowns on second-hand properties grew faster at 50.6% by volume and 65.2% by value,” he pointed out.
Mr Hayes said this underlines the limitations we have seen on the construction industry during the pandemic, which is having a clear impact on supply.
“With all residential construction now underway again the challenge remains how to satisfy the strong demand for housing, clearly evident in today’s figures, with the continued pressure which has been growing on supply,” he said.
Article Source – Mortgage approvals and drawdowns continue to rise – RTE
