40,000 home loans drawn down last year

New figures from the banks show that 40,200 mortgages were drawn down last year.

This was up by 5,400 on the total for 2017.

The value of the mortgages drawn down last year came to €8.7bn, up €1.4bn on the amount for 2017, according to the Bank and Payments Federation Ireland.

First-time buyers remain the single largest segment, accounting for almost half of all draw downs.

Some 19,344 first-time buyers were issued with a home loan last year. Together, first-time buyers and mover-purchasers accounted for almost 80pc of the total value of mortgages drawn down.