Home lending to top €5bn

New mortgage lending is expected to top €5bn this year with the Central Bank’s new loan restrictions likely to see drawdowns front-loaded in the first half of 2015.

Mortgage approval data released by the Banking and Payments Federation of Ireland suggest that there was a huge surge in activity late last year ahead of the introduction of new lending restrictions announced last month.

A total of €3.85bn was drawn down in the mortgage market last year, a 54% year-on-year increase, €1.3bn of which came in the final quarter.