The number of mortgages approved in April fell by over 46% compared with the same time last year.
Figures from the Banking and Payments Federation shows loans valued at €525 million were given the green light to more than 2,000 customers.
The low figures are being put down to the Covid-19 pandemic - with people believed to be waiting to see if house prices fall further.
Chief executive of the group is Brian Hayes - he believes the market will recover.
"I think the biggest impact on all the four quarters of the year will be in quarter two, and I think it's going to be at least quarter three or quarter four, in the second half of this year, before we begin to see an uptick on the number of new approvals, and the number of drawdowns that will follow that.
"We produce on a quarterly basis the number of drawdowns that follow mortgage approvals - it's usually in the region of 70-80%."
