The number of mortgage approvals in Ireland rose by 30.7% year-on-year in the three months to December, according to new figures from the Banking & Payments Federation Ireland.
However, the statistics also show there was a 6.9% monthly drop in approvals last month.
An average of 3,144 mortgages were approved per month between October and December, with nearly half of the approvals, 1,492, for first-time buyers.
The average monthly value of mortgages approved during the period was €641m, representing a 42.4% annual rise, but a 5.7% monthly drop.
According to the BPFI, across 2016 a total of 34,230 mortgages with a value of €6.7 billion were approved, representing a 13% volume and 20.2% value increase on the previous year.
