Mortgage approvals remain stable despite slowdown in activity in February – latest figures from BPFI
- Housing demand remains strong, but supply constraints means that competition between prospective buyers could intensify in the months ahead
- Average FTB and mover purchase values reached their highest levels on record at €322,050 and €375,495, respectively
Friday 28th March 2025 – Banking & Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI) has today published the latest figures from the BPFI Mortgage Approvals Report for February 2025. The following are the key elements:
- A total of 3,420 mortgages were approved in February 2025 – first-time buyers (FTBs) were approved for 2,102 mortgages (61.5% of total volume) while mover purchasers accounted for 626 (18.3%).
- The number of mortgages approved rose by 0.7% month-on-month and fell by 4.5% compared with the same period last year.
- Mortgages approved in February were valued at €1,078 million – of which FTBs accounted for €677 million (62.8%) and mover purchasers for €235 million (21.8%).
- The value of mortgage approvals rose by 5.7% month-on-month and by 6.6% year-on-year.
- Re-mortgage/switching activity fell by 2.8% in volume terms year-on-year and rose by 15.5% in value in the same period.
Commenting on the publication of the latest data, Brian Hayes, Chief Executive, BPFI said: “Today’s figures indicate that mortgage approvals remain stable despite an overall slowdown in activity in February 2025. While volumes were down 4.5% year on year, with the most significant drop seen in mover purchasers down by 9.9%, the value of mortgage approvals continued to grow reaching €1,078 million, up 6.6% on the same period last year.”
“In fact, the average FTB and mover purchase values reached their highest levels since the data series began in 2011 at €322,050 and €375,495, respectively. This reflects higher housing prices across the country, which increased by 8.1% in the twelve months to January 2025 according to the Central Statistics Office. Meanwhile, on the supply side, the most recent DAFT Report indicates that the number of secondhand homes available for sale had dropped below 10,000 for the first time.”
Mr Hayes added: “It’s clear that housing demand remains strong especially from FTBs, supported by employment and earnings growth, and as evidenced by the 11,731 FTB applications for Help to Buy in the first two months of this year, up from 7,840 in the same period of 2024. However, supply constraints continue which means that competition between prospective buyers, both FTB and movers, could intensify in the months ahead.”
The BPFI Mortgage Approval Report February 2025 is available here.
The BPFI Mortgage Approvals report data series since January 2011 is available to download here.
Ends/
Note: Banking & Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI) represents the banking, payments and fintech sector in Ireland. Together with its affiliates, the Federation of International Banks in Ireland, and the Fintech & Payments Association of Ireland, BPFI has over 120 member institutions and associates, including licensed domestic and foreign banks and institutions operating in the financial marketplace.
Contact: Fiona Murphy, Head of Communications, 087 9740046, fiona.murphy@bpfi.ie or Jillian Heffernan, Director of Communications, 087 9016880, jillian.heffernan@bpfi.ie.
