Mortgage lending slumps in January, according to banking industry figures –

The number of mortgages approved for people moving homes hit a record low in January outside the initial three-month Covid lockdown period.

Just 565 mortgages were approved for people looking to trade up or downsize, making it the worst January of business in that sector recorded by Banking and Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI). Approvals were down 23.3 per cent on the same time last year.

Approvals for first-time buyers, who account for the largest share of the mortgage market, also slumped, hitting their lowest level in more than two years.

The mortgage market tends to be seasonal, with the winter months being a relatively quieter period. Despite that, other than the initial impact of Covid-19, the number of mover mortgages had never dropped below 600 in any month since this data began to be recorded in 2014.

The figures suggest that fewer people are moving or downsizing from homes, limiting the availability of second-hand properties.

“Housing supply remains constrained with market indicators, as well as the slowdown in mover purchase activity, pointing to limited supply of second-hand properties for sale,” said BPFI chief executive Brian Hayes.

Across the board, mortgages approved in January were down more than 10 per cent on the same period in 2025. Just 3,034 mortgages were approved in the month, down from 3,395.

The value of these came to €954 million, down 6.47 per cent on the previous January when just over €1 billion in mortgages was approved. The lower rate of decline in the value of these compared to the number of approvals reflects the higher amounts that buyers are seeking as property prices continue to rise.

The BPFI chief noted that “approval activity declined overall and in most segments in year-on-year terms in January 2026″. The number of mortgages approved was 13.4 per cent lower than it was in December.

Of the mortgages approved in January, first-time buyers accounted for €576 million, or 60 per cent of the total for the month. People moving homes accounted to €210 million, or 22 per cent.

The balance comes from people either remortgaging or switching mortgage (12.7 per cent), topping up their loan (3.9 per cent) and buy-to-let loans, which account for just 1 per cent of all lending.

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Only mortgage top-up and switching showed any increase in business year-on-year.

Over the 12 months leading to January, the BPFI noted that there were 52,903 mortgage approvals for an aggregate amount of nearly €16.9 billion, which was largely even with the previous 12-month period in terms of value and volume.

“This indicates that, despite the recent slowdown, the pipeline for mortgage drawdowns – which reached about 46,000 in 2025 – remains strong, reflecting robust mortgage and housing demand,” said Hayes.

The value of approvals for people remortgaging or switching mortgage providers fell by 11.4 per cent in volume year-on-year,…