The number of mortgages approved in January increased 6.1% from December and 7.9% year-on-year, the latest data from the Banking and Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI) shows.

Lenders approved 3,620 mortgages worth a total of €93m in January, up 13.2% year-on-year.

First-time buyers (FTB) accounted for 1,870 or 51.6% of mortgage approvals while mover-purchases made up just 800 or 22.1% of the total. FTBs were approved for loans valued at €480m (51.3%) compared to €24m for mover-purchasers (26.1%).

Remortgaging or mortgage switching activity rose 37.8% in volume and 48.1% in value terms year-on-year, and January 2022 was the best January on record for volume or value of switching.

"Our latest mortgage approvals data shows mortgage approval activity performed well in January. We saw continued year-on-year growth in both approval volumes and value especially amongst first-time buyers with volumes up by 9.3% year-on-year and values up 17%," said Ali Uğur, BPFI chief economist.  

In Association with

"Our data shows this was the highest January volume or value for FTBs since the data series began in 2011. This points to a solid pipeline for drawdown activity as we look to the year ahead. 

"The report also shows an increasing trend in the volume of switching, a trend that has been continuing for some time which is perhaps a reflection of competition in the market where customers are availing of different options available to them."

The average value of a mortgage approved in January for a first-time buyer was €256,200, down from €262,500 in December and up from €239,350 in January 2021, while the average mortgage value for a mover-purchaser was €303,000, which was a slight decrease from December (€307,100) and an increase from last January €297,100.

(Pic: Getty Images)