Ireland sees mortgage approvals at highest level in over 3 years

Ireland saw the highest average number of mortgage approvals for house purchase per month since 2011, according to latest figures released on Tuesday.
The figures from the Irish Banking Federation (IBF) indicated that there were 2,268 mortgage approvals per month in the three months to the end of June, of which 2,102 were for house purchase.
The IBF figures also indicated the number of mortgages approved rose by 41.5 percent year-on-year and by 11.2 percent month-on-month.
The IBF said the value of mortgages approved per month on average in the three months ending June 2014 was 406 million euros, of which 390 million euros or 96 percent were for house purchase.
It added the value of mortgage approvals increased by 49.3 percent year-on-year and by 13.4 percent month-on-month.
Residential property prices have risen by 12.5 percent in the year to June, according to latest figures from Ireland's Central Statistics Office.
Prices in Dublin were 23.9 percent higher last month than in June 2013, according to the data, while prices in the rest of the country rose 3.4 percent year-on-year. On a monthly basis, prices rose by 2.9 percent nationally, compared to a 2.3 percent increase in May.