Slowdown in mortgage activity in August – BPFI
Figures from the main banks show a slowdown in mortgage activity in August, with the number of approvals down 2.5% compared with the same month last year.
Banking Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI) said that its members approved 4,536 mortgages last month, with just over 62% of these for first-time buyers (FTBs) and just over 18% for mover purchasers.
The number of mortgages approved fell by 17% compared with July and by 2.5% compared with August last year.
Values up 4.1% year-on-year
Mortgages approved in August were worth €1.46 billion – of which FTBs accounted for 63% and mover purchasers for just under 22%.
The value of mortgage approvals fell by 17.8% month-on-month and rose by 4.1% year-on-year, reflecting increases in house prices.
Re-mortgage and switching activity rose by 13.8% in volume terms compared with a year earlier and by 30.4% in value in the same period.
BPFI chief executive Brian Hayes pointed to the continuing effects of house-price inflation on the figures, despite the overall slowdown.
“Mortgage values reached €16.7 billion in the 12 months ending August 2025 – the highest level since the data series began in 2011,” he said.
Mover-purchase activity drops
The average FTB mortgage approval also increased by €19,000 over the same period to €325,934 in August.
Hayes said that mover-purchase activity continued to contract, with volumes down by 16.8% year-on-year in August.
“However, the average mover-purchase mortgage value reached its highest level since the data series began, at €384,887,” he added.