Lo stop rising rates by the ECB is a breath of oxygen for those who intend to take out a mortgage to purchase one new house. Just waiting for a change of direction from Frankfurt had already slowed down the decline in prices in September mortgage applications which had characterized the whole of 2023. Now, in this last part of the year the requests could return. Also because it is the last chance to use the Guarantee fund for purchasing your first home.
ECB and mortgage rates may have reached their peak
For some, purchasing a house rhymes with applying for a mortgage. According to research by Tecnocasa, Italians about to focus on real estate are divided into two: half ask for a mortgage, the other half use cash, perhaps obtained from the sale of another property. It's what real estate agents call "the train of sales", which this year has slowed down. But now that i rates they stabilize and it is hoped that in the short term they may even go down, we will at least start looking for houses again.
In the last board meeting the ECB left official rates unchanged at 4,50% after 10 consecutive increases in 14 months. And therefore, if there are no further increases in inflation, it can be considered a peak. Just as they should have hit a high mortgage rates seen in October. According to the findings of MutuiOnline.it, in October i fixed average rates exceeded the 4% ceiling for the first time, averaging 4,14%, while i variables they reached 5,13%. Rates which, after a decade at a level close to zero, are certainly not welcome, even if, before the start of the ECB's ultra-relaxative policy, official and mortgage rates were already at the current level (in 2007 the ECB reference was 4,25%), but in previous years it had risen to 4,75%). Yet mortgage applications were high.
Already in September the trend in mortgage requests reversed
During 2023, the prospect of not seeing the end of the monetary tightening had reduced the demand for mortgages. But when a clearing began to appear, the decline attenuated. According to the recent update of Mortgage Compass Crif – MutuiSupermarket.it le mortgage applications they had fallen by around a third in the first and second quarters (-29,9% and -33,3% respectively), but starting from the month of September, even before the announcement of the ECB's rate stop, a sharp reduction in the drop to -9,2% was seen. Experts now believe that the trend could continue even in the months that end the year.
Last weeks for the Guarantee Fund. Here's how to do it
Especially since by December there is the last possibility - unless there are renewals in the maneuver that will be launched in the next few weeks - to obtain support from the Guarantee Fund, the state facilitation aimed at certain categories of people for the purchase of the first house.
In an in-depth study prepared byABI, the Italian Banking Association, with the banks and Consumer associations within the Simple Transparency project, the characteristics of the Fund are recalled. First of all we need to know that it releases state guarantees equal to 50% of the quota capital on mortgage loans (or on mortgage portfolios connected to the purchase or for the purchase and renovation to improve energy efficiency) of properties that are used as main house. There is also the possibility of requesting the guarantee for a higher mortgage at 80% of the purchase price of the property, if you are in possession of a ISEE (the indicator of the equivalent economic situation) not exceeding 40 thousand euros per year. Mortgage loans granted by banks or financial intermediaries for amounts not exceeding 250 thousand euros for non-luxury first home properties are eligible for the Fund's guarantee.
Who can apply and how
There are no limits of borrowers' income for access to the Fund's guarantee in general. However, if more than one application is received, one will be given priority to mortgages disbursed in favor of:
- young couples, established for at least two years, where at least one of the two members is not over the age of 36;
- single-parent families with minor children;
- young people under the age of 36;
- tenant of accommodation owned by independent public housing institutes, however named.
To request it you have until 31 2023 December. You need to fill out the form published on the site di Awareness, which deals with the management of the Fund e present it to one of the banks and financial intermediaries participating in the initiative, the list of which is available on the Fund manager's website, attaching an identification document and the ISEE declaration, in the case of an 80% guarantee.
The bank/financial intermediary, having verified the completeness and formal regularity of the application form, takes action send it to Consap, who communicates the outcome of the investigation of the guarantee to the bank/financial intermediary within 20 days from the arrival of the request. Within 90 days of confirmation of admission to the Fund's guarantee, the bank/financial intermediary communicates the outcome of the mortgage operation to the manager.
