A total of 2,675 mortgages were approved per month in the three months to the end of May, new figures show, up 8.7% on the same time last year.
The figures are contained in the Banking & Payments Federation Ireland's latest mortgage approvals report.
They show that 53% of mortgages approved in May were for first time buyers while mover purchasers accounted for 29%.
The BPFI figures also show that the value of mortgages approved in the three month period was €523m, up 7% year on year.
€270m of this was accounted for by first time buyers while €188m by mover purchasers.
Meanwhile, both re-mortgage and top-up mortgage approvals grew on a yearly basis, with switching activity rising to its third highest level since July 2014.
