Borrowing by house buyers rose to a new record of €1.7 billion in December, according to monthly data released by the Central Bank this morning.
This brought the annual rate of mortgage growth up to 25.7 per cent in the month, compared with 25.5 per cent in November. Irish lending institutions had more than €55 billion on loan for house purchases by the end of 2003.
Continuing house price inflation was revealed in an ESRI study last week that showed that average house prices rose by 13 per cent nationwide in 2003.
Irish credit institutions' loans stood at more than €160 billion in December, a rise of 1.6 per cent or €2.5 billion on November.
Term and revolving loans increased by €1.9 billion; overdrafts fell by €339 million.
According to the Central Bank, private-sector credit growth remained strong, although the adjusted annual rate softened to 17.9 per cent compared with 18.3 per cent in November. The bank noted a "reversal of November tax-related flows in December". It said Government related deposits dropped by €2.7 billion.
The value of SSIA schemes held in the State rose by €138.7 million to just over €3 billion in December.