€462m in home improvement loans taken out in 2021

Over 11,900 loans, worth €116m, were drawn down in quarter four of last year, bringing the value of home improvement loans in 2021 to €462m. 

Some 43,336 home improvement loans were drawn down in 2021, with more loans taken out in the last three months of the year than in previous quarters, new data from the Banking and Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI) shows.

Over 11,900 loans, worth €116m, were drawn down in quarter four of last year, bringing the value of home improvement loans in 2021 to €462m. 

It marks a 34.9% increase in the number of home improvement loans taken during the same quarter in 2020 and a 24.6% increase overall throughout the year.

The average home improvement loan was worth €9,748 in the last quarter, a drop of almost €1,000 on 2020.

BPFI chief executive Brian Hayes said the Covid-19 restrictions in 2020 had "a substantial negative impact" on lending.

"For the first time ever, these new figures are giving us an insight into the significant scale of personal lending by BPFI members, with current loan volumes equating to 2,756 loans drawn down per week, 864 of which are for car or auto loans and 833 of which are for home improvements," said Mr Hayes.

"With improving consumer confidence, we expect demand for personal loans to increase in 2022.”

Car loans 

The BPFI has also reported that 10,201 car loans were drawn down in October, November, and December, rising by 10.4% year-on-year, bringing the number of car loans issued throughout 2021 to almost 45,000, an increase of 5.4%.

The total value of car loans for last year came to €488m, with €116m being drawn down in the last quarter — a rise of 7.4% and 3.9% respectively.

The average car loan issued in quarter four of 2021 stood at €10,474, down from €11,135 a year earlier.

The BPFI also reported 39,803 personal loans being drawn down in the final three months of 2021, valued at €344m and representing an increase of 34.6% in volume and 20.1% in value year-on-year.

Over 140,000 personal loans were drawn down in 2021, a 12.2% increase on 2020, with the value of these loans increasing by 13.5% to almost €1.4bn. The average personal loan fell to €8,652.