Mortgage Approvals Down: 17% Reduction Last Month
Irish Mortgage Approvals Decline in August 2025, Despite Annual Value Increase
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Mortgage Approval Trends
The number of mortgages approved in Ireland during August 2025 decreased by 17% compared to july, according to the latest report from the Banking and Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI). Approvals were also down 2.5% year-on-year.
A total of 4,536 mortgages were approved in August 2025. The total value of thes approvals reached €1.456 billion, a 17.8% decrease from July but a 4.1% increase compared to August 2024.
First-Time Buyers and Mover Purchasers
First-time buyers (FTBs) continued to dominate the market, accounting for 2,822 approvals, or 62.2% of the total. Mover purchasers represented 825 approvals, or 18.2%.
The value of mortgages approved for FTBs reached €920 million (63.2%), while mover purchasers accounted for €318 million (21.8%).
Mover purchase activity continued to contract, with volumes down 16.8% year-on-year.However, the average mover purchase mortgage value rose to a record high of €384,887, an increase of almost €31,000 compared to August 2024.
The average FTB mortgage approval also increased, rising by €19,000 to €325,934 in August 2025. BPFI Chief Executive Brian Hayes attributed these increases to housing price inflation.
annualized Mortgage value
Despite the monthly decline, the annualized value of mortgage approvals reached €16.7 billion in the twelve months ending August 2025 - the highest level sence the BPFI data series began in 2011. the annualized value of FTB approvals also hit a new high of almost €10.4 billion.
Re-mortgage and switching activity increased by 13.8% in volume terms and 30.4% in value year-on-year.
