Over €1.4 billion in mortgages was approved between July and September, representing an increase of 4.2% when compared with the same period last year.
The figures from the Banking and Payments Federation also show that the vast majority of mortgage loans approved during the period were for house purchases, with the remainder for re-mortgages or top-ups.
An average of 2,683 mortgages were approved monthly in the third quarter, up from 2,588 the same time last year.
Of the approved loans, 7,292 new mortgages to the value of €1.330 billion were drawn down by borrowers between July and September.
These latest figures represent an increase of 16.7% in volume and 22.7% in value compared to the previous quarter.
They also represent an increase of 15.6% in volume and 18.1% in value on the corresponding second quarter of 2014.
First-time buyers remain the single largest segment by volume (50.4%) and by value (47.5%).
Together, FTBs and mover-purchasers accounted for 89.2% of the total value of mortgages drawn down.
The data also showed €422m of mortgage approvals in September, down 0.7% on the year but up from €392m in August.
The average mortgage approval in the third quarter was €191,227, up 0.9% on the year.
Analyst with Davy Conall Mac Coille says that data illustrates “that households are being prevented from increasing their leverage by stretched affordability and the Central Bank’s lending rules.
“Lending growth looks set to slow sharply in the final quarter of 2015. This is consistent with anecdotal reports that Irish banks have now used up their 15% allocation of loans allowed to exceed the Loan-to-Value (LTV) limits. Indeed, the recent Credit Conditions Survey indicated that banks expected to tighten credit availability in Q4 2015,” he added.
Meanwhile, data from the Central Bank shows Irish mortgage borrowers are paying considerably more interest than their counterparts in the rest of the euro zone, with the rate here at 3.24% at the end of September, compared with an equivalent euro rate of 2.07%.
However over the third quarter, mortgage interest rates here were generally lower when compared with Q2.
