Mortgage approvals rise 30%

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.

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.