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ISEQ lower-New mortgages for December

Thursday, January 31 08:37:16

The ISEQ is a little lower this morning at 3542, down 6 points as European markrts started the day slightly higher on Corporate earnings data.

Some Irish economic releases today including the latest ESRI report and the Irish banking data for December which is discussed by NCB Stockbrokers:

The Irish Banking Federation (IBF) has this morning released its latest monthly mortgage approvals data series. The release provides colour on the volume and value of approvals for both house purchases and re-mortgage / top-up activity.

The data reveal that 1,446 mortgages were approved in December, 1,323 of which were for property purchase, with the balance relating to re-mortgages and top-ups.

While this was below the outturn for November (2,010 approvals), it is likely that this reflects front-loading of activity ahead of the phasing out of mortgage interest relief at the end of last year. For 2012 as a whole some 17,786 mortgages were approved, 13pc above the total for 2011. The combined value of mortgages approved in 2012, at just under E3bn, represents an increase of 12pc over the total for 2011.

Unsurprisingly, the IBF data show continued divergent trends between the level of approvals for house purchases and re-mortgage / top-ups. In 2012 total approvals for house purchases were +24pc on the outturn for 2011, while re-mortgage / top-ups were -40pc over the same timeframe.

In all, the IBF data once more illustrate the improving trends the mortgage market, with the volume of approvals of mortgages for house purchase increasing in every month during 2012 on an annual basis by between 4 and 49pc. Re-mortgages / top ups, in contrast, fell in each month on the same basis but that comes as no surprise given the changes that have occurred in the Irish housing market since the end of the Celtic Tiger period.

Given recent commentary from the banking sector (AIB, Bank of Ireland and PTSB have all signalled plans to increase mortgage lending this year), we expect to see this momentum persist throughout 2013 according to NCB Stockbrokers