Some 9,190 new mortgages were drawn down by borrowers in the first three months of this year, a 10% rise compared to the same period last year.
New figures released by the Banking & Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI) show the value of new mortgage drawdowns increased by more than 19% to €2.8bn compared to the same period in 2024, with rising house prices seeing the average mortgage reach its highest level on record.
Underpinned by significant increases in the average drawdown on second-hand homes, the average value of home mortgages rose to €327,972 in 2025, the BPFI said.
The average first-time buyer mortgage on secondhand properties exceeded €300,000 for the first time, increasing by almost 10% annually to €302,018, more than double the average drawdown in the first three months of 2024.
First-time buyers remained the single largest segment by volume and by value, comprising 58% and 59% respectively. Re-mortgage/switching volumes and values also increased, rising by 18.7% and 30.6% year-on-year respectively.
Meanwhile, the average mover purchase mortgage on secondhand properties also increased by almost 10% to a new high of €370,790.
“Our latest data shows that mortgage activity remains strong,” said Brian Hayes, chief executive of the BPFI.
“This represents a rise in volume of 10% year-on-year and of 19% in value over the same period. In fact, all mortgage customer segments grew year-on-year with first-time buyer and mover purchase mortgage drawdown values reaching their highest first quarter levels since 2007 and 2008, respectively.”
Switching activity also grew strongly in the first three months of 2025, Mr Hayes said, with switcher mortgage volumes increasing by 19% year-on-year to 1,166.
This accounted for 12.7% of all drawdown volumes, the highest share since the first quarter of 2023.
Meanwhile, just under 5,000 mortgages were approved in March 2025, almost 61% of which were for first-time buyers, while mover purchasers accounted for 19%.
The number of mortgages approved in March rose by 31% month-on-month and by 18.9% year-on-year.
Mortgages approved in March 2025 were valued at €1.4bn, of which first-time buyers accounted for 62%, while mover purchasers accounted for 22.5%.
The value of mortgage approvals rose by 32.5% month-on-month and by 30% year-on-year the BPFI added.
Re-mortgage/switching activity rose by 77% annually in volume terms and by 100% in value.
Looking at the most recent mortgage approval figures, Mr Hayes added: “There were 52,021 mortgage approvals in the twelve months ending March 2025, valued at €15.8bn.
“Of this, the annualised value of home mortgage approvals reached the highest level since the data series began at more than €13.8bn in the same period.
“FTB approval volumes also reached their highest level since the data series began with 31,759 mortgages valued at almost €9.9bn.”