The number of first-time buyers (FTBs) approved for a mortgage has hit a record high!

Around 30,000 new buyers got the green light from lenders to take on a mortgage in the year to August

It is the first time since the Banking and Payments Federation started compiling mortgage figures in 2011 that so many first-time buyers have been approved.

It comes as the asking price for housing rose slightly this month when compared with last year.

Prices were 1.1pc higher in the three months to September when compared with the same period in 2022, according to the latest House Price Report released by property website Daft.ie.