The latest mortgage draw-down data from the BPFI reveals that first time buyers are by far and away the only segment of the mortgage market that is growing.
In the first two quarters of this year, the number of units drawn down by first time buyers is increasing and now, generally match those from the Celtic Tiger period.
Second time mortgage figures, on aggregate reveal there is a lot less movement than in previous years (even over the course of the last 10 years), so a lot more people are remaining in place, or at least, are not using a mortgage to move from one house to another. For example, in H1, 2025, there are just under 4,000 mortgages drawn down. But this is less than the same period in 2023, 2022, 2021, 2019, 2018 and 2017.
Wipe-out of the retail investor class
In the buy-to-rent sector, there is almost no activity and it is here that the latest statistics are most interesting. Compared to say 2006 or 2007, at the height of the Celtic Tiger era, the number of mortgage units used to buy a property has been almost completely wiped out. For example, in H1 2006 and H1 2007, there were between 10,000 and 13,000 buy-to-let mortgages drawn down. In 2025, that figure is about 300. So it is here that the most dramatic shift in lending has taken place in Ireland.
Summary
The Irish mortgage market primarily serves just one borrower class at present, first time buyers.
The retail landlord that used bank credit on a massive scale in the past is becoming extinct.
Additionally, fewer and fewer people are using mortgage credit to move from one house to another.
And finally, when it comes to refinancing and topping up a mortgage, the figures in 2025 are a mere fraction of what they were during the Celtic Tiger era.
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