New figures from the Irish Banking Federation show that there has been a 19% fall in the number of mortgages lend out by financial institutions in the first quarter of this year compared with the same period last year.
The IBF/PWC mortgage market profile shows that 38,326 new mortgages worth more than €7.8 billion were issued in the first quarter of 2007. The value figure represents a 7.5% fall on a year earlier.
First-time buyers now account for 20.7% of the total mortgage market by volume, the highest share since the survey began.
The survey shows that the slowdown in the number of mortgages was spread across all sectors, with the smallest decline of 9.9% among first-time buyers and the largest (25%) among those moving house.
The only segment of the market to show an increase in value in the quarter was re-mortgaging or switching, up 5.8% year-on-year.
IBF chief executive Pat Farrell said the figures were consistent with other indicators which showed a slowdown in activity. He called for the uncertainty surrounding stamp duty changes to be resolved without delay.
