Mortgage Approvals up almost 60% year on year

The number of mortgages approved in Ireland rose 57.5pc year-on-year in the three months ending in January, the last month before the Central Bank’s new mortgage caps, a new report shows.

The numbers dropped 10pc on the three months leading up to December, but mortgage activity typically drops in January, the report from the Banking and Payments Federation Ireland says.

The value of mortgages approved in the month was €470m, of which €441m was for house purchases.

On average, 2,500 mortgages a month were approved in the period.