The average First Time Buyer (FTB) mortgage drawdown was just over €250,000 in the first quarter of this year, almost €20,000 more than the same time last year.
New figures from Banking and Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI) show this is the second highest level recorded since it started collecting the data in 2003.
It is only about €1,700 less than at the peak in the first quarter of 2008.
The average mover purchase mortgage meanwhile reached a new high of €293,817 - €17,000 higher than a year earlier.
"These increases very much reflect the trend in average home price increases which is due to the lack of supply in the market," said Brian Hayes, Chief Executive of BPFI.
Today's report reveals that 9,910 new mortgages to the value of over €2.5 billion were drawn down by borrowers during the first quarter of this year.
This is an increase of 9% in volume and 17.3% in value on the first quarter of 2021.
FTBs accounted for over half of the draw downs in the three month period.
While mortgage approval growth for FTBs was modest at 1.1% year on year in March, the figures show that growth in FTB mortgage drawdowns was much stronger in the first quarter, up 9.9% - reflecting strong approvals activity late last year, and into this year.
The figures show that re-mortgage or switching activity has grown strongly in recent quarters, with drawdown volumes increasing by 27.7% year-on-year in the first quarter of this year and approvals up by 32.8% year-on-year in March.
"This is evidence of the choice and competition in the mortgage market and consumers ability to use that choice to their advantage," Mr Hayes said.
Today's figures show that a growing number of people are using brokers when it comes to applying for a mortgage.
Just over 62% of homebuyer mortgage drawdowns were originated directly by lenders in the first quarter of this year, while the remainder applied through brokers.
This was the lowest proportion since the third quarter of 2010, and compares with an average of 79.3% in the decade ending 2020.
The report shows that mortgage drawdown volumes on new properties grew 19.4% year-on-year in the first quarter of the year, to 2,022 – the highest quarter one level since 2009.
While FTB volumes on new properties reached their highest level since the first quarter of 2008, mover purchase volumes were about 14% of the levels recorded during that period.
In terms of secondhand properties, there were 5,632 mortgage draw downs valued at almost €1.5 billion in the first quarter of the year - the highest level since 2007 and 2008 respectively.
The volume and value of FTB mortgages on secondhand properties reached their highest level since the first quarter of 2007 at 3,608, and more than €873m.
