43,500 mortgages were drawn down in Ireland last year, the largest number in 11 years.
New figures from the Banking and Payments Federation show they totalled €10.5 billion. First-time buyers made up more than half of drawdowns.
Just over 53,000 mortgages were approved in 2021.
A total of 3,856 mortgages were approved last December, 2,096 or 54 per cent were for FTBs.
Chief Executive of the BPFI, Brian Hayes, says the numbers are significant;
"Both in terms of new mortgage drawdowns and the total amount of mortgage value is the biggest single number since 2009 and the highest value since 2008."
