Loans, disbursements rose by 35% in the first quarter – Finance Sector

Between January and March families received more mortgages to buy a house . The news comes from the statistical bulletin of the end of June of the Bank of Italy, according to which in the first quarter of 2015 the banks have disbursed EUR 7.072 billion of mortgage loans, 35% more than the same period last year (5,237 billion).

Growth slowed. The disbursements grew but at a slower pace than that recorded in the same period of 2014, when, according to the Italian Banking Association (ABI ), there had been a rise of 50% compared to 2013. The survey of the Bank of Italy also does not take into account the weight of the subrogation of total loans granted to households for house purchases. An impact that is particularly high according to the analysis widespread in recent times.

rates down. Who lit surrogate or a mortgage in the first quarter of 2015 benefited from interest rates at a record low. According to the latest report Money and Banking of Bank of Italy, in April fixed-rate mortgage loans have recorded an average rate of 3.10%; while variable rate amounted to 2.3%.

House prices downward. Continue to decrease the cost of housing. According to the latest analysis of Istat, in the first quarter real estate values ​​have decreased by 0.7% from the previous quarter and by 3.4% over the same period of 2014. In five years, according to the research institute , the value of properties in Italy fell by 13.7%. In particular, the prices of used fell by 18.6%, while those of newly built houses were down by 1.5%. According to Codacons
the collapse of the cost of housing is due mostly to the credit crunch that occurred starting in 2007. “ In recent years, loans for house purchase granted by lenders only fell by 72%, from 62.7 billion euro in 2007 to 17.6 billion euro in 2013 – said President Carlo Rienzi -. In the last period there has been a slight reversal of the trend, but this is completely insufficient resuming housing market. Just the collapse of mortgage loans has led to a sharp reduction in trade with impact on housing prices, a sharp decline in recent years “. In parallel it becomes increasingly difficult to buy a house, despite the decline in prices. “ This is because the loans are no longer granted and their disbursement is subject to an obstacle impossible to sustain especially for young couples, singles or those who do not have higher and higher guarantees required by banks “he concluded Rienzi.