The following are the key figures from the Mortgage Drawdowns Report for Q1 2024:
- A total of 8,419 new mortgages to the value of €2,358 million were drawn down by borrowers during the first quarter of 2024.
- This represents a decrease of 19.8% in volume and 17.7% in value on the corresponding first quarter of 2023.
- A comparison with the previous quarter (Q4 2023) shows a decrease of 27.3% in volume and 28.3% in value.
- First-time buyers (FTBs) remained the single largest segment by volume (58.5%) and by value (60.2%).
- Re-mortgage/switching volumes and values fell by 53.1% and 59.0% year on year respectively.
In addition, BPFI also published today the latest figures from the BPFI Mortgage Approvals Report for March 2024:
- A total of 3,779 mortgages were approved in March 2024 – some 2,360 were for FTBs (62.5% of total volume), while mover purchasers accounted for 805 (21.3%).
- The number of mortgages approved in March rose by 5.5% month-on-month and fell by 16.4% year-on-year.
- Mortgages approved in March 2024 were valued at €1,102 million – of which FTBs accounted for €707 million (64.2%) and €269 million by mover purchasers (24.4%).
- The value of mortgage approvals rose by 8.9% month-on-month and fell by 15.4% year-on-year.
- Re-mortgage/switching activity fell by 21.5% year-on-year in volume terms and by 26.0% in value in the same period.
Speaking on the publication of the reports, Brian Hayes, Chief Executive, BPFI said: “Looking at the latest mortgage figures, we are seeing an overall slowdown in mortgage drawdowns with a drop in both volume and values across all mortgage categories in Q1 2024. This was driven largely by switching which was down by more than half. Looking at mortgage approvals, volumes fell by 16.4% year-on-year to 3,779 in March 2024.”
“Meanwhile the average mortgages on secondhand properties for both FTBs and mover purchasers reached their highest levels since the data series began in 2005 at €274,535 and €327,069 respectively. Q1 2024 was the 33rd consecutive quarter in which the average FTB mortgage on secondhand properties had increased in year-on-year terms.”
Mr Hayes concluded: “Despite the overall decline in activity, mortgage demand remains strong. There were 15,297 applications to the Revenue Commissioners for the Help to Buy scheme in the first quarter of 2024, an increase of almost 60% compared with the 9,585 applications made in the first quarter of 2023. On the supply side, however, recent reports have pointed to a shortage of supply of secondhand homes for sale and the Central Statistics Office reported a 2.6% year-on-year drop in sales of secondhand properties to households in the first two months of this year.”
