Average first-time buyer mortgage up nearly €25,000 in the last year

Chief executive of the BPFI Brian Hayes there were 45,774 mortgage drawdowns in the 12 months ending in September valued at €14.1bn.

The value of the average mortgage drawn down by first-time buyers increased by nearly €25,000 during the period July to September compared to the same time last year as house prices continue to soar, new data from the Banking and Payments Federation, Ireland (BPFI) shows.

During the third quarter, there were 12,750 mortgages drawn down worth a combined €3.974bn. These figures include first-time buyer mortgages, mover-purchasers, remortgaging or switching, as well as top-up mortgages.

The number of mortgages drawdowns are up 7.7% year-on-year while the values are up 16.6%.

The average mortgage drawn down during this period stood at just over €316,000, an 8.3% increase compared to the same period last year.

First-time buyers accounted for 7,490 drawdowns with a combined €2.418bn. This leaves an average mortgage value of €322,830 — up from the €297,905 recorded last year.

Mover-purchasers saw an even bigger increase. There were 2,390 mortgages in this category drawn down during the third quarter valued at a combined €931m.

The average mortgage value for this cohort stood at just under €390,000 - an increase of over €30,000 year-on-year.

Remortgaging and switching activity was up 35% year-on-year to 1,562 drawdowns with the value hitting €460m — an increase of 57.9%.

According to the latest residential property price register index, house prices have increased by 7.4% in the 12 months to August.

Chief executive of the BPFI Brian Hayes there were 45,774 mortgage drawdowns in the 12 months ending in September valued at €14.1bn.

New properties, including self-builds, accounted for 35.8% of home mortgage drawdowns during the third quarter while the value of these mortgages reached over €1.2bn.

Mr Hayes said this increase was “largely driven by an increase in first time buyer mortgages on new properties”.

“In contrast, mover purchasers accounted for just 521 new property mortgage drawdowns valued at €193m in the same period.” 

The BPFI also released data on the mortgage approvals during September. A total of 4,761 mortgages were approved during the month, up 7.1% compared to September 2024.

Combined these mortgages were valued at €1.486bn.