Over 21,000 mortgages drawn down in first half of 2026 valued at almost €6.8 billion – BPFI
- 21,232 mortgages drawn down in H1 2026 valued at almost €6.8 billion
- The value of first-time buyer (FTB) mortgage drawdowns rose by 10.5% year on year to €4.1 billion, the highest H1 level since the data series began in 2003
- Annualised value of mortgage approvals reached €17.6 billion in the twelve months ending June 2026, the highest level since the data series began in 2011
Tuesday 28th July 2026 – Banking & Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI) has today published the latest figures from the BPFI Mortgage Drawdowns Report for Q2 2026 and the BPFI Mortgage Approvals Report for June 2026.
The following are the key figures from the Mortgage Drawdowns Report for Q2 2026:
- A total of 11,795 new mortgages to the value of €3,747 million were drawn down by borrowers during the second quarter of 2026.
- This represents an increase of 7.4% in volume and 11.1% in value on the corresponding second quarter of 2025.
- A comparison with the previous quarter (Q1 2026) shows increases of 25.0% in volume and 23.5% in value.
- First-time buyers (FTBs) remained the single largest segment by volume (58.8%) and by value (60.3%).
- Re-mortgage/switching volumes and values increased by 13.6% and 24.8% year on year respectively.
In addition, BPFI also published today the latest figures from the BPFI Mortgage Approvals Report for June 2026:
- A total of 5,631 mortgages were approved in June 2026 – some 3,304 were for FTBs (58.7% of total volume), while mover purchasers accounted for 1,062 (18.9%).
- The number of mortgages approved in June fell by 1.1% month-on-month and rose by 15.3% year-on-year.
- Mortgages approved in June 2026 were valued at €1,864 million – of which FTBs accounted for €1,112 million (59.6%) and €416 million by mover purchasers (22.3%).
- The value of mortgage approvals fell by 0.7% month-on-month and rose by 19.7% year-on-year.
- Re-mortgage/switching activity rose by 49.2% year on year in volume terms and by 65.8% in value in the same period.
Speaking on the publication of the reports, Brian Hayes, Chief Executive, BPFI said: “The latest mortgage drawdowns data shows that over 21,000 mortgages were drawn down in the first half of 2026, valued at almost €6.8 billion, up 5.1% in volume and 9.6% in value compared to H1 2025. The value of first-time buyer (FTB) mortgage drawdowns rose by 10.5% year on year to €4.1 billion, the highest H1 level since the data series began in 2003.”
Looking more closely at Q2 drawdown figures, Mr Hayes added: “Growth in the second quarter was driven primarily by FTBs, with 6,941 FTB drawdowns valued at almost €2.3 billion. These were the highest second-quarter FTB values since the data series began in 2003. Mover purchase activity picked up in Q2 2026 with values up 4% year on year to €788 million, the highest second-quarter level since 2008. Quarterly activity rose across most segments (except RIL) compared with Q1 2026, reflecting seasonal patterns, with Q1 typically the quietest period of the year for drawdowns.”
Turning to property types, Mr Hayes continued: “New properties, including self-builds, accounted for almost 40% (38.6%) of home purchase mortgage drawdowns (FTBs and mover purchasers) in Q2 2026, up from 37% in Q2 2025. In fact, home mortgage drawdowns on new properties reached the highest Q2 levels since 2008, up 10.2% in volume and 14.9% in value year-on-year. This increase was driven mainly by FTB mortgages on new properties, which rose in volume by 13.4% to 2,979 and by 19.5% in value to more than €1 billion (€1,040 million), the highest Q2 value since 2007.”
“There were 5,499 home mortgage drawdowns on secondhand properties, valued at over €1.8 billion, in Q2 2026. In year-on-year terms, drawdown volumes on secondhand properties rose by 2.9% while drawdown values rose by 4.8%. This was the first time since Q1 2025 that the volume of mortgages on secondhand properties had risen in year-on-year terms. The value of FTB mortgages on secondhand properties rose by 3.2% to over €1.2 billion (€1,220 million) in Q2 2026, the highest Q2 level since the data series began in 2005.”
Focusing on the most recent mortgage approvals, Mr Hayes continued: “Approvals activity increased in June, with volumes rising year on year by 15.3% and values rising 19.7%. On an annualised basis, the value of mortgage approvals reached a new high of €17.6 billion in the twelve months ending June 2026. The volume and value of FTB approvals both reached new highs on an annualised basis, with 33,011 FTB approvals valued at more than €10.8 billion over the same period.”
He added: “Notably, switching activity has also grown significantly in recent months with drawdown values increasing by 24.8% year on year to €525 million in Q2 2026 and approval value up by 65.8% year in year to €258 million in June.”
The BPFI Mortgage Drawdownsreport Q2 2026 is available to download here.
The BPFI Mortgage Approvals June 2026 report is available to download here.
Ends/
Data Series:
Mortgage drawdown data from Q1 2005 onwards is available in Microsoft Excel XLS format in the BPFI Mortgage Drawdowns report data series. Download the BPFI Mortgage Drawdowns Report time series here.
All mortgage approvals data from January 2011 onwards is available in Microsoft Excel format (*.xls) in the BPFI Mortgage Approvals report data series. The BPFI Mortgage Approvals report data series is available to download here.
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 here.
Contact: Fiona Murphy, Head of Communications, fiona.murphy@bpfi.ie or Jillian Heffernan, Director of Communications, jillian.heffernan@bpfi.ie.
