Banks wary of transferring a home loan for a new purchase

Portability, as well as transferability (variant where the credit is transmitted to the buyer who is the new owner of the home), "have more disadvantages than advantages beyond the particular heaviness and complexity of their possible implementation ", writes the French Banking Federation (FBF) in a press release.

Portability, an optional clause in loan contracts today, has been highlighted for more than a year by the National Real Estate Federation (Fnaim) in order to revive the real estate market, which has been at its lowest level for several years. quarters.

It is the subject of a bill tabled on May 2 by Renaissance MP Damien Adam, determined to “act against the blocking of the real estate market”.

According to him, portability has three advantages: "allowing the French to continue to benefit from the rate of their first loan if it is more advantageous than the current rates, simplifying and limiting the procedures for acquiring a new loan ( ...), prevent the owner-seller from having to pay early loan repayment penalties, which can be substantial.

Banks, for their part, are warning of a higher average loan duration and therefore more expensive for them to cover.

“The greater volatility of real durations and their lengthening, and the greater weight given to real estate as guarantee, would require a transformation of the model and the refinancing of credits to control risks”, with potentially more variable rates, underlines the FBF .

“This generalization of loan portability could lead to an increase in interest rates,” summarized the general director of the Cafpi broker network Caroline Arnould earlier in the month.

The total amount of new home loans continues to plummet, according to data from the Banque de France published on May 6: it fell in March to 6,7 billion euros, the lowest in almost ten years.

All market players believe that the main obstacle remains the price of real estate, which is still high, even if it is slowly eroding.

In the first quarter of 2024, old property prices continued their erosion compared to the previous quarter, falling by 1,6%, according to the benchmark Notaires-Insee index published on Tuesday.