Mortgage drawdowns were down almost 22% between July and September when compared to the same period last year.
New figures from Banking and Payments Federation Ireland show that just over 11,600 mortgages were drawn down during the three month period, valued at over €3.1 billion.
The fall is drawdowns was driven by an 81% drop in mortgage switching volumes, and a 79% drop in re-mortgage volumes.
Meanwhile, first-time buyers accounted for over 60% of all mortgages drawn down in the third quarter.
Today’s data shows that FTB volumes and values are at their highest levels since 2007 and 2006 respectively, on a year to date basis.
“About 470 FTB mortgages valued at €131 million have been drawn down per week in the first nine months of 2023 – that’s 18,324 FTB mortgages valued at €5.1 billion,” said Brian Hayes, Chief Executive of BPFI.
Mr Hayes said this dominance is demonstrated when we look at the share of FTBs buying new and secondhand homes.
“FTBs accounted for almost 80% of home mortgage drawdowns on new properties and 69% of home mortgage drawdowns on secondhand properties in the third quarter of 2023,” Mr Hayes said.
“It is also interesting to see that, notwithstanding the significant government incentives introduced for FTBs buying new properties, their appetite for secondhand homes remains strong.
“The quarterly value of FTB drawdowns on secondhand properties exceeded €1.3 billion for the first time since the data series began in 2005, while the number of FTB mortgages on secondhand properties was the second highest since 2005 at 4,916,” he added.
When compared to the previous quarter, overall drawdowns were up over 17% in volume terms, and almost 15% in value.
Today’s data also looks at mortgage approvals for the month of September.
A total of 4,161 mortgages were approved during the month – over 60% were for FTBs, while mover purchasers accounted for over 22%.
The number of mortgages approved in September fell over 22% on the same time last year, and by over 8% on the previous month.
Mortgages approved in September were valued at over €1.1 billion – of which FTBs accounted for over 62% and mover purchasers for 26%.
“Looking at our latest approvals figures, which we also published today, we can see that although the monthly volume of mortgage approvals likely peaked during the summer months, the pipeline continues to strengthen with 30,184 FTB mortgage approved in the 12 months ending September 2023,” Mr Hayes said.
“This was a new high and establishes a solid foundation for a strong end to the year,” he added.
Article Source: Mortgage drawdowns fall 22%, driven by switching slump – Gill Stedman – RTE