In the first three months of 2022, the banks granted almost 68,000 mortgage loans for the purchase, construction or renovation of a home. The total amount – more than 11 billion euros – is a record for a first quarter, the Credit Professional Association reported on Thursday. But the peak may have gradually been reached, as the number of new applications is decreasing.
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From January to March, 67,952 new mortgage loans were granted (excluding refinancing), 4.4 percent more than in the first quarter of 2021. The total amount of all those loans, slightly more than 11 billion euros, was even more than 17 percent higher.
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The fact that the amount increases more than the number means that the average amount per home loan is increasing. Anyone who takes out a loan to buy a home now borrows an average of 196,000 euros. That is almost a quarter more in three years. The average amount for the construction of a house has increased in the same order of magnitude since 2019, to 210,000 euros. And the average amount of a credit for the purchase and renovation of a home is now 218,000 euros, which is 12 percent more than three years ago. More than nine out of ten borrowers opt for a fixed interest rate.
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“2022 also started with a strong first trimester,” says Ivo Van Bulck, secretary general of the Credit Professional Association, in a press release. “Never before has so much mortgage credit been provided in the first trimester.”
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But there seems to be a turning point. “We have been noticing a drop in credit applications for several months now. This could indicate a future stabilization or decline,” said Van Bulck. Nearly 108,000 credit applications were submitted in the first quarter for a total amount of 19 billion euros. This is a decrease of 8.5 and 4 percent respectively compared to a year earlier.
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