Posts by sean

New figures from Banking and Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI) show that first-time buyer mortgage approvals hit a record high last November. BPFI said that first-time buyer volumes rose to 31,049 in the 12 months ending November 2024, while the value of these approvals was almost €9.5 billion. A total of 4,400 mortgages were approved in…

The share of electricity in Ireland supplied by wind fell during 2024 due to grid constraints, an energy company has said. Wind Energy Ireland said that despite wind supplying nearly a third of all electricity to the island of Ireland last year, the share of electricity provided by wind was down by 3% compared to…

New figures from the Central Statistics Office show that the country’s unemployment rate rose to 4.2% in December, from 4.1% a month earlier. The CSO said that on an annual basis, the unemployment rate of 4.2% is down from 4.5% in December 2023. Today’s figures show that the monthly jobless rate for men in December…

First-time buyers are taking on more debt in proportion to their incomes than purchasers in the UK for the first time since the Celtic Tiger, according to a report by property website MyHome.ie in association with Bank of Ireland. The average mortgage loan for a house purchase has also exceeded €300,000 for the first time…

The estimated annual salary of a stay-at-home parent has been calculated to be €57,140, according to new research. The analysis was carried out by pension and life insurance provider Royal London Ireland. The salary figure for a stay-at-home parent is up from an estimated €54,590 in 2023 and €40,560 in 2015, when the company first…

Irish food, drink and horticulture exports were worth €17 billion last year, according to Bord Bia – a record high. The figure represents a 5% increase on 2023, according to its Exports Performance and Prospects Report for 2024/25. However Bord Bia said higher pricing was the primary driver of export value growth last year, with…

Euro zone inflation accelerated in December, an unwelcome but anticipated blip that is unlikely to derail further interest rate cuts from the European Central Bank. Inflation in the 20 nations sharing the euro picked up to 2.4% last month from 2.2% in November, Eurostat said today, in line with expectations in a Reuters poll of…

The average price of a second hand home rose by 8.4% last year, almost double the rate of growth witnessed in 2023, the latest residential market review and outlook from property advisors DNG shows. The latest DNG National Price Gauge (NPG) shows the annual rate of price growth nationwide strengthened in the second half of…

The euro zone economy ended 2024 in a fragile state, according a survey which showed overall activity contracted for a second month in a row December as a modest recovery in the services industry failed to offset a deeper downturn in manufacturing. HCOB’s final composite Purchasing Managers’ Index for the bloc, compiled by S&P Global…

The services sector activity expanded slightly slower in December but growth in new business hit its fastest pace since March and optimism for the coming 12 months improved, a survey showed today. The AIB Global S&P Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) slipped to 57.1 in December from 58.3 in November, but remained well above the 50…