The mortgage market continued its recovery in August

The total amount of new loans granted in August (excluding renegotiations) stood at 12,2 billion euros, "in a market where first-time buyers continue to represent more than half of new loans," the institution emphasizes.

Mortgage lending declined significantly between mid-2022 and early 2024, a period during which the European Central Bank (ECB) gradually raised its key interest rates to combat runaway inflation in Europe.

This increase had an impact on mortgage interest rates, which rose on average from 1,26% in May 2022 to 3,61% in January 2024.

They have since fallen slowly, as the ECB has eased its monetary policy and lowered its key rates, following the return to normal of inflation.

Interest rates on new home loans, regardless of their duration, stood at an average of 3,10% in August, excluding renegotiation, fees and insurance.

The average rate of real estate loans in France, however, rose slightly in the third quarter, to 3,82% for terms of 20 years and over, a first in a year and a half, according to the new usury rate table published at the end of September in the Official Journal.

This reversal of trend, while rates had been trending downwards since the peaks of the first quarter of 2024, is for the moment measured: the average rate for the second quarter was just below, at 3,81%.

This is partly explained by the commercial policies of banks, which protect their margins, and the surges in the cost of French sovereign debt, linked in particular to political uncertainties.

Banks are in fact dependent on their country's borrowing rate, since they borrow on the markets, under similar conditions, part of the money that they then lend to individuals and businesses.

Illustrative image of the article via Depositphotos.com.