The recovery of the Italian real estate market continues. 2016 begins as 2015 ended, ie with an increase in mortgages granted to households for the purchase of homes. An increase favored above all by fixed-rate loans, which since the middle of last year have exceeded those at variable rates in amount.
These are the data resulting from the "Mortgage market monitor" created by the Research and Studies Department of Intesa Sanpaolo.
Within the report, the experts testify to a further growth in stocks, after almost three years of decline: in February, the total of loans to households in fact rose by 1% year on year compared to the 0,8% recorded in the three months previous. In detail, in the 1st quarter, the net monthly flows of loans to households recorded an average value of approximately 815 million, a further increase compared to 585 million in the 2nd half of 2015, after returning to positive territory starting from March of last year.
In March, the trend was further strengthened also thanks to the renegotiations of existing loans (subrogations). Speaking in numbers, in 2015 new contracts increased by 39% y/y, reaching an amount of 32 billion while renegotiations exceeded 9 billion.
“These dynamics are favored by the context of a general reduction in the level of interest rates on loans for home purchase, which have reached new lows.” Based on what we read in the report – Also in the first few months of 2016, the decline affected both variable and fixed rates, but the latter to a slightly more marked extent. In particular, the very low level reached by the fixed rate and the reduction of the differential between this and the floating rate justify the current shift towards fixed rate mortgages and the relevance of the renegotiations of existing loans”.
The study also highlights a further easing of the offer criteria applied by banks for the granting of mortgages in the first few months of the current year. "The attitude recorded on the Italian market - continues the report - remains among the most positive in the context of the Eurozone countries, where the banks declared that on average they have practiced a restriction of the supply criteria and that they have recorded an increase significantly lower demand than in Italy”
Finally, it should be noted that, after the boom recorded in 2015, in the first few months of the current year the growth rate of new mortgages begins to "show signs of progressive moderation", while remaining largely positive.
