Mortgage approvals jumped in October, both in terms of volume and value.
Across all types of borrowers, banks approved a total of 4,262 mortgages in October, up 11.4pc month-on-month.
This is a 13.6pc increase in approvals year-on-year, figures from the Banking and Payments Federation Ireland show.
First-time buyers accounted for the lion’s share of activity, with 2,014 mortgage approvals.
The figures also show the value of mortgage approvals rose by 11.4pc year-on-year, and 13pc when compared with the previous month.
Mortgages approved in October 2018 were valued at €929m, of which first-time buyers accounted for €446m.
Meanwhile, the level of re-mortgaging or switching approvals rose on a year-on-year basis by 71pc both in volume and value terms – albeit off a low base.
Commenting on the figures, Felix O’Regan, director of public affairs at the Banking and Payments Federation, said: “All segments of the mortgage market contributed to an overall increase in annualised approval volumes and values in the 12 months to end-October 2018.”
Last month, following a review, the Central Bank said the rules dictating the amount of money people can borrow for a home and the size of deposits needed are to remain unchanged.
Introduced in 2015, the rules are in place to stop banks over-lending and consumers from over-borrowing.
The rules have been credited with slowing down the pace of house price growth.
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