Evolution of mortgage credit in February 2020

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The number of loan applications decreased in February 2020 by just over 8% compared to February 2019. The total amount corresponding to these applications was also nearly 4% lower.

In February 2020, the number of granted loans decreased by more than 21%. In terms of amount, approximately 24% less credit was granted than in February 2019.

 

These findings are based on the data from the Mortgage Credit Barometer of the Professional Association of Credit (BVK).

Om de evolutie van het hypothecair krediet sneller te kunnen volgen, stelt de Beroepsvereniging van het Krediet (BVK) sinds begin 2009 een hypothecaire-kredietbarometer op. Deze barometer geeft elke maand de evolutie weer van het aantal en volume nieuw toegekende en aangevraagde hypothecaire kredieten van de voorbije maand, in vergelijking met dezelfde maand van het voorgaande jaar. De vermelde percentages hebben betrekking op omzeggens de totaliteit van de BVK-markt van hypothecaire kredieten. De onderliggende absolute cijfers worden op trimestriële basis vrijgegeven via een persbericht van Febelfin.

Loan applications

 

The following chart illustrates the evolution of loan applications, in terms of both amount and quantity, over the past twelve months. The monthly figures are consistently compared to those of the same month in the previous year.

In February 2020, the number of applications for a mortgage loan decreased by more than 8% compared to February 2019. In terms of amount, there was also a decrease of nearly 4% compared to the previous year.

The decline in the number of loan applications occurred across all areas: loans for home purchases (-16%), loans for home construction (-17%), loans for home renovations (-0.2%), loans for home purchase with renovation (-2.2%), and loans for other real estate purposes (-18%). Only the number of applications for external refinancing (+28.5%) experienced an increase.

Granted Mortgage Loans

 

The following chart illustrates the evolution of granted mortgage loans, in terms of both quantity and amount, over the past twelve months. The monthly figures are consistently compared to those of the same month in the previous year.

In February 2020, the number of granted mortgage loan agreements was more than 21% lower than in February 2019. The corresponding loan amount also decreased by approximately 24%.

The decline in the number of granted loans occurred in nearly all areas: loans for home purchases (-34%), loans for home construction (-34%), loans for home purchase with renovation (-25%), and loans for home renovations (-1.5%). Only external refinancing loans (+21%) experienced an increase.