Around 44,600 mortgage loan contracts were concluded in the second quarter of the year, according to statistics from l'Union Professionnelle du Crédit (UPC), published on Thursday by Febelfin.
The loans came up to a total of €7.4 billion, the statistics published by the financial sector federation show.
In terms of both the number of contracts and their combined value, this represents a 36% drop compared with the corresponding period in 2022.
“The rise in interest rates, in particular, has led to a fall in demand and therefore a fall in the number of loans granted,” says Ivo Van Bulck, secretary general of the UPC.
Mortgage loan interest rates continued their upward trend over the past quarter. Based on figures published by the National Bank, these rates ranged in May from an average of 4.66% – for loans with an initial fixed-rate period of up to 1 year – to an average of 3.28% – for loans with an initial fixed-rate period exceeding 10 years.
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The number of credit applications fell by just over 29% in the second quarter compared with the second quarter of 2022. More than 70,000 such applications were submitted for a total value approaching €13 billion.
Against a backdrop of rising rates, the number of external refinancings fell by 78% (-6,454). Fewer than 1,800 such refinancings were recorded, for a total value of around €219 million.
The average amount borrowed for the purchase of a home rose slightly, to around €193,000. Average building loans also rose slightly, to €211,000.
