Housing

Record high €8.8bn first time buyer mortgages approved in November

First-time buyers represented more than 61 per cent of the total volume of mortgages during November

30,550 first-time buyer mortgages were approved in the 12-month period up to the end of November. Picture: Getty

The number of first-time buyers being approved for mortgages hit historic levels at the end of last year, new data from the Banking & Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI) has shown.

The trend has come amid an overall slowdown in mortgage activity. In November 2023, a total of 4,202 mortgages were approved, which represented a year-on-year decline of 22.7 per cent and month-on-month decrease of 1.7 per cent.

First-time buyers represented more than 61 per cent of the total volume of mortgages during the month, which meant that 30,550 first-time buyer mortgages were approved in the 12-month period up to the end of November.