Mortgage approvals rise 30%

Mortgage approvals rose almost 30 per cent in December, new data from the Irish Banking Federation showed today.

Mortgage approvals rose almost 30 per cent in December, new data from the Irish Banking Federation showed today.

The IBF mortgage approvals report showed a total of 1,446 mortgages were approved by lenders in Ireland during the month, with a value of €234 million.

That translates into a rise of 29.6 per cent in the number of mortgages approved compared with the same month in 2011, and a 29.3 per cent rise in terms of value.

The figures indicate renewed activity in the sector, the organisation said. The majority of the approvals were for the purchase of property, with 8 per cent for remortgaging properties and top-ups on existing home loans.

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However, the month-on-month figures declined, a fall that was attributed to fewer work days in December and the liekly front-loading of activity in November ahead of changes to mortgage interest relief.

“As the IBF Mortgage Approvals Report is a lead indicator of future mortgage market activity, we expect this evidence of renewed activity to be reflected in the actual mortgage drawdown figures for Q4 2012 when the IBF/PwC Mortgage Market Profile is published in February,” said the IBF’s director of public affairs Felix O’Regan.

Ciara O'Brien

Ciara O'Brien

Ciara O'Brien is an Irish Times business and technology journalist