Mortgage drawdowns in 2021 totalled almost €10.5 billion according to the Banking and Payments Federation of Ireland (BPFI).
The figures show drawdowns reached the highest value level recorded since 2008, representing 43,493 mortgages.
Approximately €13.3 billion in 53,335 mortgages was also approved last year.
The BPFI report for the final quarter of 2021 shows 13,299 of last year's draw downs were made in the last three months of the year, a 9.4 per cent increase in volume and 12.3 per cent increase in value on 2020 Q4 figures.
Volume and value were also up on 2021's Q3 figures, rising by 15.9 and 19 per cent respectively.
First-time buyers were the largest cohort of borrowers, representing 54.4 per cent of the volume of draw downs, and 54.2 per cent of the value.
Despite the increases, BPFI figures for December show the number of mortgages approved fell month-on-month by 22.2 per cent, and reduced by 3.6 per cent compared to December 2020. While the value of these mortgages decreased by 21.2 per cent month-on-month, it rose by 3.3 per cent year-on-year.
"Looking to the year ahead we anticipate a strong pipeline of mortgage approvals which will be further bolstered by the recent operational flexibility announced to the CBI’s macroprudential rules," BPFI chief executive Brian Hayes said.
"With an increase in housing supply also projected we expect all these factors combined to lead to strong activity in the housing and mortgage markets during 2022," he added.
