Mortgage approvals hit record high [Video]

The value of mortgages being approved for first-time buyers has more than doubled in seven years, new banking figures show.

Almost 27,000 home loans were granted in the first ten months of this year, while the value of approvals topped €8.1bn, a record high and more than twice the figure in 2017.

Experts pointed to rising prices and the lack of available homes as the reasons behind the drastic increase.

Dr Lorcan Sirr, senior lecturer in housing at Technological University Dublin, said: “People are having to borrow more and also put in [subsidy scheme] Help to Buy and maybe shared equity as well, on top of chasing a smaller number of properties.”

Just 33% of new houses were for sale, with the majority becoming rental properties, according to recent data from selling agents, he said.

But he added: “I think that figure’s high, but either way, a third or less of new housing came to the market …