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Slight rise in number of mortgage approvals for first-time buyers

Almost 1,900 new buyers got the go-ahead for a home loan last month. Photo: Stock image Expand

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Almost 1,900 new buyers got the go-ahead for a home loan last month. Photo: Stock image

Almost 1,900 new buyers got the go-ahead for a home loan last month. Photo: Stock image

Almost 1,900 new buyers got the go-ahead for a home loan last month. Photo: Stock image

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There was a small rise in the number of first-time buyers approved for a mortgage in January.

A total of 1,890 new buyers got the go-ahead for a home loan.

This is a 2.1pc increase on the same month last year, according to the Banking and Payments Federation Ireland.

Separate figures show the stock of houses available for sale remains at a historically low level, something that is expected to keep pressure on prices.

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Banking figures show a dramatic drop in the number of people seeking a buy-to-let mortgage.

Just 76 mortgages were approved for investment properties last month, down 17pc on the same month last year.

Investors are leaving the rental market over rising mortgage rates and claims that taxes are too high, while also complaining about the regulatory burden.

The mortgage approval figures from the banks show that a total of 3,697 mortgages were approved in January

First-time buyers represented 51.1pc of the total number of mortgages approved.

Mover-purchasers accounted for 854 approvals, or about a quarter of the total.

Analysis by Sherry FitzGerald Research shows there were only 15,140 second-hand properties listed for sale nationwide in January, a drop of more than 26pc on January 2020.

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