Average home mortgage drawdown hits new record high in first quarter
New figures from Banking and Payments Federation Ireland show that the average home mortgage drawdown value reached €327,972 in the the first quarter of 2025 - the highest level on record.
BPFI's latest figures show that a total of 9,190 new mortgages worth €2.807 billion were drawn down by borrowers during the first three months of the year - an increase of 10.3% in volume and 19.1% in value on the same time last year.
It noted that first-time buyers remained the single largest segment by volume (57.8%) and by value (59.1%), while re-mortgage/switching volumes and values increased by 18.7% and 30.6% year on year respectively.
BPFI also published its Mortgage Approvals Report for March, which showed that a total of 4,492 mortgages were approved during the month.
Some 2,736 were for first time buyers (60.9% of total volume), while mover purchasers accounted for 848 (18.9%).
The number of mortgages approved in March rose by 31.3% month-on-month and by 18.9% year-on-year.
Mortgages approved in March 2025 were valued at €1.428 billion - of which FTBs accounted for 62.4% and mover purchasers accounted for 22.5%.
BPFI said the value of mortgage approvals rose by 32.5% month-on-month and by 29.7% year-on-year.
Meanwhile, re-mortgage/switching activity rose by 77.1% year on year in volume terms and by 100.4% in value.
Brian Hayes, chief executive of BPFI, said that reflecting trends in housing prices, the average home mortgage drawdown value reached its highest level on record at €327,972 in the first quarter of 2025.
He said this was driven by significant increases in average drawdowns on secondhand homes.
"The average FTB mortgage on secondhand properties exceeded €300,000 for the first time, increasing by 9.7% year on year to €302,018, more than double the average drawdown in the first quarter of 2014," he said.
"The average mover purchase mortgage on secondhand properties increased by 9.6% to a new high of €370,790," he added.
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