In all, 4,446 mortgages were approved in April, up 17.7pc on the month before.
The number of mortgages given approval last month jumped 14pc compared to April last year.
First-time buyers were approved for 2,828 mortgages last month. This accounted for 63.6pc of the total, the report from BPFI showed.
This was the second highest share of approvals since the data series began. The record was 64.3pc last May.
BPFI chief executive Brian Hayes said the figures were positive news for first-time-buyer mortgages.
“Overall, the report shows a continued rise in mortgage activity, with 49,473 approvals in the 12 months ending April, up 1.12pc compared to the 12 months ending March 2024,” he also said.
There were also 898 “mover mortgages” in April, which represented a fifth of the total.
The BPFI revealed the value of the mortgages that received approval in April had risen almost 20pc on March. It also increased 18.4pc year-on-year.
In all, the April mortgages were valued at €1.3bn, with first-time-buyer mortgages worth €862m.
Activity from first-time buyers has risen as a result of government programmes such as the Help-to-Buy and the First Home shared-equity schemes.
However, buyers are paying more for homes this year as housing prices continue to rise.
BPFI said the average mortgage on second-hand properties for first-time buyers in the first three months of this year was €274,535. This was the 33rd three-month period in which this figure had increased year-on-year.
For mover purchasers, the average mortgage was €327,069.
The latest Residential Property Price Index, published by the Central Statistics Office, revealed prices rose 7.3pc in the year to March.
Values in Dublin were up 7.2pc, with prices across the rest of the country rising 7.4pc.
The median price of a dwelling bought in the period was €333,000.
The BPFI said earlier this month there had been a slowdown in the number of mortgages being drawn down so far this year.
It attributed this decline to switching activity, which fell 53pc in the first three months of this year compared to the same period last year.