Central Bank softens stance as approved mortgages fall 6.7%

The number of approved mortgages in December fell by 6.7 per cent month-on-month, according to the latest figures.

The Central Bank has been criticised for stricter lending rules which require borrowers to have a deposit of 10-20 per cent to get a mortgage.

Governor Prof Phlip Lane said on Tuesday he was open to examining whether rental records or car loan repayments could be used by banks when assessing applications.

The Banking and Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI) said there was an average of 2,375 mortgages approved per month in the three months ending December 2015.

Of these, 1,214 (51 per cent) were for first-time buyers while mover purchasers accounted for 687 (29 per cent).

The number of mortgages approved in December fell by 14.6 per cent year-on-year and by 6.7 per cent month-on-month.

The average value of mortgages approved per month in the three months ending December was €448 million, of which €217 million (48.3 per cent) was accounted for by first-time buyers and €161 million (35.9 per cent) by mover purchasers.

The value of mortgage approvals fell by 12.3 per cent year-on-year and by 5.1 per cent month-on-month.

A total of 29,925 mortgages, valued at €5.6 billion, were approved during 2015. This represents a year-on-year increase of 13 per cent in volume and 17.6 per cent in value.

All figures are based on the three-month moving average.

Year-on-year compares the average for the three months ending December 2015 with the three months ending December 2014. Month-on-month compares the average for the three months ending December 2015 with the three months ending November 2015.