The number of mortgage approvals jumped 17.6% in the three months ending July 2016, according to new figures from the Banking & Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI).

A total of 3,274 mortgages were approved per month, on average, with some 1,593 (48.7%) of those being for first-time buyers (FTBs). Mover purchasers accounted for 1,061 of the approvals.

The value of mortgages approved per month was €659 million – of which €306 million (46.4%) was accounted for by FTBs and €260 million (39.5%) by mover purchasers.

The value of mortgage approvals rose by 28.5% year-on-year and by 6.5% month-on-month.

Both re-mortgage and top-up mortgage approvals grew on a year-on-year basis with re-mortgage (or switching) activity almost doubling in volume year-on-year, increasing to 7.5% of mortgages approved.

Bank of Ireland announced on Monday that it will now offer its mortgage customers a 3% refund as part of a new Cashback Plus deal. In July, Pepper Homeloans reduced its variable rates to as low as 3.1%.