Mortgage approval values hit record high in July as average loan value rises by €20,000

The value of the average mortgage approval in July stood at just under €324,000. In July last year, the average mortgage approval value was just over €303,000. File picture

The value of mortgage approvals hit a record high of €1.77bn during July as the average size of a mortgage increased by over €20,000 compared to last year, according to new data from the Banking and Payments Federation, Ireland (BPFI).

The data shows that total mortgage approval volumes and values in July went up by 2.9% and 10.0% respectively year-on-year. There were 5,467 mortgages approved last month, across all categories.

This resulted in an average mortgage value of just under €324,000. In July last year, the average mortgage approval value was just over €303,000.

According to the latest residential property price index, in the 12 months to June property prices across the country grew by 7.8%. The median price of a home in Ireland now stands at €370,000.

First-time buyers accounted for 3,356 of these mortgage approvals with values exceeding €1.1bn for the first time. Mover-purchasers accounted for 1,142 mortgages at a value of €435m.

Chief executive of the BPFI, Brian Hayes, said while the number of mover-purchaser approvals fell by 7.2% year on year, “this was the third highest volume since November 2022”.

“It’s worth noting that mortgage approval activity in the first-time buyer and mover-purchaser segments usually peaks between May and July. Meanwhile, mortgage switching approvals continued to grow with volumes and values increasing by 27% and 49.9%, respectively, year on year.” 

What's your view on this issue?

You can tell us here

There were 517 remortgage/switching approvals during the month worth €158m and 355 top-up mortgages valued at €53m. There were also 97 approvals for residential investment letting mortgages valued €21m.

“In annualised terms, first-time buyer activity reached new heights with 32,363 mortgage approvals valued at almost €10.4bn in the 12 months ending July,” Mr Hayes said.

“First-time buyer demand remains very strong with the Revenue Commissioners reporting that Help to Buy applications reached almost 26,000 in the first seven months of the year, 47% more than in the same period of 2024. Over the same period, Help to Buy claims exceeded 5,500, up 14% year on year.” 

The BPFI started keeping track of mortgage approvals in 2011.