DAVY VIEW

This morning’s Banking & Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI) data show mortgage approvals of €1.1bn in April, the strongest month so far in 2021 as lockdown restrictions were eased. The average mortgage approval rose to a fresh high of €259,300, up 4.6% on the year – suggesting our forecast for 3% house price inflation in 2021 may be too conservative. Given resilient transaction activity early this year, despite the third lockdown, we may also have to revise our forecast for mortgage lending towards €10bn in 2021.