Banking & Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI) has recently published its latest figures from the BPFI Mortgage Approvals Report for August 2025.
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. While re-mortgage/switching activity rose by 13.8% in volume terms year-on-year and by 30.4% in value in the same period.
The slowdown among movers combined with the lack of new housing completions points to a further strain on supply for first-time buyers.
Those movers who did get a loan are looking to borrow more, an average of €384,887, compared with the €325,934 average for first-time buyers. A total of 4,536 mortgages were approved last month. First-time buyers were approved for 2,822 mortgages and mover purchasers accounted for 825.
Brian Hayes, Chief Executive, BPFI commented, “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.”
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.”
Banking & Payments Federation Ireland 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.
Meanwhile, separate data from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) shows the number of homes bought in Ireland fell last year to 48,780, after running at more than 50,000 in the previous two years, probably affected by a drop in new home completions.
The CSO data shows almost a third of people who bought a home in Ireland last year were aged 35 or under. The median age of all buyers was 40 last year, unchanged from 2023, the data shows. That means as many people under 40 as over 40 bought a home, and is a good guide to what’s typical.
Last year the national median income of residential property purchasers was €84,400, up from €80,100 in 2023, and €75,600 in 2022.
NB – This is a guide for information purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. If you have an issue requiring legal advice, please contact any of the team at Nolan Farrell & Goff LLP, whose numbers can be found on our website www.nfg.ie, or ema
