The slowdown in the mortgage market is continuing, driven by a declining numbers of switchers and mover purchasers.
The latest figures from Banking and Payments Federation Ireland show that just over 3,200 mortgages were approved in January – down almost 12% on the same month last year.
Approvals dropped across all customer groups, with the exception of First Time Buyers (FTBs).
1,991 mortgages were approved for this group, up almost 5% on January 2023.
In contrast, mortgage switching activity dropped almost 50%, with just 228 approvals.
Meanwhile, the number of mortgages approved for mover purchasers dropped over 17% to just 680.
This is the lowest January level since 2016.
“Movers play an important role in housing by bringing secondhand homes to the market but in recent years we have seen a decline in the number of properties being advertised for sale and much of that secondhand supply has come from investors selling up,” said Ali Uğur, Chief Economist, BPFI
“While we traditionally focus on the supply of newly built homes, with demand for housing so strong, we need the secondhand home supply to increase as well,” he added.
Overall, mortgage approvals in the month of January were valued at €919 million, down over 9% on the same time last year.
First time buyers account for €577 million, while mover purchasers for €227 million and switchers for €79 million.
Article Source – Mortgage approvals down across all groups, except FTBs – RTE