Il 2022 was characterized by an increase in the interest rates which prompted would-be borrowers to evaluate new types of mortgage for the House. So much so that in the first half of 2022 he clearly wins the variable rate with cap on the fixed rate. Furthermore, the average ticket was 159.720 euros, basically in line with 2021. In terms of duration, mortgages of 25 30-years, which together cover 72,4% of requests. This is what emerged from a portal survey Mortgages (Gabetti Group) on home purchase loan applications.
The ratio between the amount of the loan granted and the property value, the so-called Loan To Value (LTV), sees for the first half year 2022 as the most requested share (67% of requests) an amount that is over 81% of the value of the property, a clear signal that most of the demand comes from the under 36s.
“Currently there has been a slowdown in mortgage applications, obviously linked to the sharp increase in rates recorded in the last period, which has affected families with more fragile incomes, i.e. the same ones who are currently heavily penalized by inflation and the dear bills.” explains Antonio Ferrara, Chief Executive Officer of Monety, a credit brokerage company of the Gabetti Group. “To suffer the greatest consequences of the continuous increases in interest rates on mortgages will above all be young people who have effectively driven the market in recent years. The latter, in addition to having to pay higher installments, may in fact not be able to access the state guarantees of Consap, in force only until December 2022.
Home loan 2022: the variable rate with cap wins
If requests for a fixed-rate mortgage, for obvious reasons, are declining, it is also true that there has been a boom of questions for the floating rate with cap, the best-selling product in recent months. But what is it? It is a mortgage whose interest rate fluctuates on the basis of the trend of a parameter defined as Euribor, which however cannot exceed a certain threshold (cap), thus defining a maximum amount for the installments to be paid.
“The variable mortgage is also offered with fixed-rate or constant-rate exchange option formulas, formulas that are extremely flexible and particularly appreciated by customers in times of tension like the one we are experiencing. In general we are confident: we expect 2022 to close with over 700 sales", continued Ferrara.
Classes of amount, differences over the years
On amount classes there are clear differences compared to 2021 and 2020. Mortgage applications below 100 thousand euros have grown in terms of weight on the total, compared to 2021, reaching 30% of the total, compared to a share of the 36% in 2021. Those from 101 to 150 euros increase, reaching 40%. Requests for loans for amounts between 151 thousand euros and 200 thousand euros are growing, going from 26% in 2021 to 30% in the first half of 2022.
Mortgage: who requests it and the response of the banks
As for the profile of the applicant, the prevalence of private employees, equal to 64%, even if they grow in relative terms i state employees (+8% compared to 2021), while the value relating to the VAT matches compared to 2021, going from 29% to 14% of applicants.
Ferrara then concludes: “The generations that have entered the world of work for a few years are the ones that tend to have less economic stability and therefore the greatest uncertainties given the complex economic situation. Among the latter, the tendency to postpone the purchase of a house to monitor future developments remains. Banks also glimpsing a decrease in credit quality, they adopt policies more risk conservative".
