H1 mortgage-drawdown levels highest since 2008
Figures from the main banks show that the value of mortgages drawn down in the first half (H1) of this year was almost €6.2 billion – the highest figure since 2008.
Rising house prices also meant that the average value of a mortgage drawn down during H1 hit a record level of €329,444.
Banking Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI) said that 10,978 new mortgages worth €3,37 billion were drawn down by borrowers during the second quarter (Q2) of 2025.
This represented an increase of 9.6% in volume and 18.1% in value on the same quarter of 2024. A comparison with the previous quarter (Q1 2025) showed increases of 19.1% in volume and 19.8% in value.
FTBs dominate market
First-time buyers (FTB) accounted for around 60% of the volume and value of mortgages drawn down during the quarter.
BPFI said that 11,803 FTB mortgages, valued at more than €3.7 billion, were drawn down in the first half of 2025 – the highest H1 volumes and values since 2007 and 2006, respectively.
The figures also showed a jump in remortgaging and switching activity, with Q2 volumes up 67% compared with a year earlier and values surging by more than 90%.
9% June rise
The organisation also released mortgage-approval figures for June, which showed that 4,883 mortgages were approved in June 2025 – almost 60% for FTBs.
The number of mortgages approved in June fell by 3.1% month-on-month and rose by 9% year-on-year.
The value of mortgages approved in June was €1.56 billion – down 3.1% from May but up 16.2% compared with June last year.
BPFI chief executive Brian Hayes said that the surge in switching activity signalled “a normalisation” of trends in the sector, after a sharp peak in activity in 2022 was followed by a slowdown.
New properties take bigger share
Hayes noted that new properties accounted for 35% of home-purchase mortgage drawdowns in the first half of 2025 – up from 31.7% in the same period in 2024 and the highest H1 proportion since 2010.
“The number of FTB mortgages on new properties continued to increase significantly, reaching 4,531 – the highest H1 level since 2008,” he added.
“By contrast, while the number of mortgages on second-hand properties increased marginally to 10,312, it was 9.7% below the level in H1 2022 (11,417).”
Hayes said that FTB demand remained strong, citing Revenue figures that showed a 41% annual jump in Help to Buy applications in the first half of this year.