New mortgage lending in Eire fell -37% in the first nine months of 2008 compared to the same period in 2007, as falling property prices and tighter borrowing rules deterred buyers, according to the latest survey of the market by the Irish Banking Federation (IBF) and PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Lenders recorded the steepest decline in new mortgages since the survey began in 2005 as the value of loans fell to their lowest level in more than three years. The value of new mortgage lending in the third quarter declined to €5.6bn from €8.9bn in the same period last year.

New mortgages to buy-to-let and residential property investors showed the sharpest decline in the third quarter, falling -46% from a year ago in terms of the value of loans. Mover-purchaser mortgages slipped -37% and re-mortgage loans dropped -36% in the third quarter on last year.