Banks and SKOKs sent home loan enquiries to the Credit Information Bureau (BIK) in December for an amount 421% higher than a year earlier, the bureau reported. The number of applications rose by 277% y-o-y to 46,34 thousand, while on a monthly basis – it increased by 16.4%.
The average value of a home loan applied for in December this year was £435.27k (the highest ever), 25.1% higher than in December 2022. Compared to November 2023, it increased by 1.3%, BIK stated.
“Potential borrowers submitted loan applications in December 2023 for a value more than four times higher than a year earlier. The Demand Index reached a historic high. Demand for home loans is at a record high, driven by several factors. The first is the increased number of people applying for a home loan, which rose from 12,000 in December 2022 to 46,000 in December 2023 (the highest since March 2022). This is largely a result of interest in the ‘2% Credit’ scheme. Among those applying for a home loan in December, as many as 73% of people are potential beneficiaries of this programme,” said Sławomir Nosal of the Credit Information Bureau.
Demand for housing loans is also growing among potential borrowers who, for formal reasons, cannot be beneficiaries of the programme. They are favoured by improved creditworthiness as a result of real wage growth (above inflation). The 3M WIBOR rate, after rising by 0.2 percentage points in November, remained fairly stable in December and was 1.1 percentage points lower than at the end of 2022, supporting borrowing decisions, it stressed.
“An important factor determining the level of the Index is also the increase in the average amount of loan applied for to a record high of PLN 435,000 – an amount as much as one-quarter higher than in December 2022. Such a high value of the average amount applied for is due both to the increase in property prices and to the fact that a large proportion of those wishing to take advantage of the ‘2% Credit’ programme are applying for amounts close to the upper limit of this programme (PLN 500,000 for singles and PLN 600,000 for married couples),” Nosal concluded.
Source: BIK and ISBnews
