Mortgage market cautiously recovering: consultancy firm

The mortgage market is cautiously recovering, said consultancy firm IG&H. The average amount for which homeowners took out a mortgage in the third quarter has risen to a record high, according to IG&H. Total turnover on the mortgage market increased further in July, August, and September, after yields had also increased in the second quarter.

Earlier this year, many fewer people took out a mortgage because the interest on this type of loan hand increased significantly. With a high interest rate, people can borrow less money than when the interest rate is low because their repayments are higher.

But now, the number of people taking out a mortgage and the average loan amount are rising again, IG&H said. Last quarter, the number of new mortgages rose to 80,000, an increase of 2,000 compared to April, May, and June.

First-time buyers and those moving on had a slightly larger share in the past quarter than in the second quarter, IG&H noted. First-time buyers now have the largest share of the market since 2016.

The average mortgage amount was 396,000 euros last quarter, IG&H said. That is 4.1 percent more than the previous three months. The mortgage amount rose fastest for transfers and supplementary loans. Total mortgage turnover increased to 26.9 billion euros.