Almost 16,000 have taken out mortgages this year as lending rises

Almost 16,000 people have taken out a mortgage to date this year as an increasing number of people look to get on the property ladder.

On average, 2,574 mortgages were approved in each of the summer months of June, July and August — 92% of which were for house purchases.

This degree of lending represents a significant increase on last year’s transactions, according to the latest figures released by the Banking & Payments Federation Ireland.