Mortgage switching has collapsed by 53 per cent on the previous quarter, according to figures from the Banking & Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI).
Remortgage and switching rose 22.5 per cent by volume and 25.3 per cent by value year-on-year, but fell 52.1 per cent and 53.7 per cent on the previous quarter.
Other key figures from the BPFI show first-time buyers now account for 62 per cent of approval volumes, the highest share since data became available in July 2014.
A total of 10,908 new mortgages to the value of €2.8 million were drawn down by borrowers during the first quarter of 2023.
This represents an increase of 10.1 per cent in volume and 14.1 per cent in value on the corresponding first quarter of 2022.
A comparison with the previous quarter (Q4 2022) shows a decrease of 31.3 per cent in volume and 34.1 per cent in value.
First-time buyers (FTBs) remained the single largest segment by volume (50.8 per cent) and by value (51.1 per cent).
The BPFI also published figures around mortgage approvals for 2023.
A total of 4,520 mortgages were approved in March 2023 – some 2,801 were for FTBs (62 per cent of total volume), while mover purchasers accounted for 1,019 (22.5 per cent).
The number of mortgages approved in March rose by 33.8 per cent month-on-month and fell by 1.2 per cent year-on-year.
Mortgages approved in March 2023 were valued at €1,301 million – of which FTBs accounted for €819 million (62.9 per cent) and €332 million by mover purchasers (25.5 per cent).
The value of mortgage approvals rose by 37.7 per cent month-on-month and 7.7 per cent year-on-year.
Re-mortgage/switching activity fell by 54.4 per cent year-on-year in volume terms and by 53.1 per cent in value in the same period.
Speaking about the data, Brian Hayes, chief executive, BPFI said: “Our latest mortgage figures show that in terms of mortgage drawdowns, demand remains strong with 10,908 new mortgages to the value of €2.9 billion drawn down by borrowers during the first quarter of 2023.
"However overall, the figures point to a continued year-on-year slowdown as the impetus from switching decreases. Mortgage approval volumes in March fell by 1.2 per cent year-on-year while switching volumes dropped by 54.4 per cent.”
“It is notable nonetheless, that trends in the home buyer segments remain positive.
"First-time buyers and mover purchase drawdown volumes reached their highest Q1 levels since 2007 and 2008, respectively.
"Looking forward, FTB approval volumes rose by 15.7 per cent year-on-year with FTBs accounting for 62 per cent of approval volumes, the highest share since data became available in July 2014.”
