Mortgage approvals reached record value of €16.7 billion in twelve months to August 2025, despite slowdown in volumes – BPFI
- Annualised value of FTB approvals also reached a new high at almost €10.4 billion.
- Overall mortgage approval volumes for August 2025 down 2.5% year on year, while home purchase mortgage approvals fell by 5.1% over the same period.
- Number and value of top-ups reached their highest annualised levels since the data series began.
Friday 26th September 2025 – Banking & Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI) has today published the latest figures from the BPFI Mortgage Approvals Report for August 2025. The following are the key elements:
- A total of 4,536 mortgages were approved in August 2025 – first-time buyers (FTBs) were approved for 2,822 mortgages (62.2% of total volume) while mover purchasers accounted for 825 (18.2%).
- The number of mortgages approved fell by 17.0% month-on-month and by 2.5% compared with the same period last year.
- Mortgages approved in August were valued at €1,456 million – of which FTBs accounted for €920 million (63.2%) and mover purchasers for €318 million (21.8%).
- The value of mortgage approvals fell by 17.8% month-on-month and rose by 4.1% year-on-year.
- Re-mortgage/switching activity rose by 13.8% in volume terms year-on-year and by 30.4% in value in the same period.
Commenting on the publication of the latest data, Brian Hayes, Chief Executive, BPFI said: “Our latest report shows that there were 4,536 mortgage approvals in August with overall values at almost €1.5 billion (€1,456 million). This represented somewhat of a slowdown in mortgage approval activity, with approval volumes down by 2.5%, year on year. This was more pronounced for home purchase mortgage approvals, which fell in volume terms by 5.1% over the same period. However, overall mortgage values continued to rise, up 4.1% compared with August 2024. In fact, looking at annualised figures, mortgage values reached €16.7 billion in the twelve months ending August 2025, the highest level since the data series began in 2011. The annualised value of FTB approvals also reached a new high at almost €10.4 billion.”
He continued: “Meanwhile, mover purchase activity continued to contract, with volumes down by 16.8% year on year in August. However, the average mover purchase mortgage value reached its highest level since the data series began at €384,887, almost €31,000 more than in August 2024 (€353,970). The average FTB mortgage approval increased by €19,000 over the same period to €325,934 in August 2025. These increases broadly reflect housing price inflation, with the most recent Central Statistics Office data showing the national Residential Property Price Index increased by 7.5% in the 12 months to July 2025.”
Looking at other mortgage segments, Mr Hayes added: “At the same time, mortgage switching continued to grow, up 13.8% in volume and 30.4% in value year-on-year. The number and value of top-ups, which include both further mortgage advances to existing mortgage borrowers as well as equity releases on properties without a mortgage, reached their highest annualised levels since the data series began, with 3,428 top-ups valued at €527 million in the twelve months ending August 2025.”
The BPFI Mortgage Approvals Report August 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, fiona.murphy@bpfi.ie or Jillian Heffernan, Director of Communications, jillian.heffernan@bpfi.ie.
