Do not panic! Interest rates are still far from skyrocketing. But they are rising timidly… and several statistics from the Crdit Logement-CSA observatory confirm in parallel that borrowing conditions are tightening at the start of 2022…
1 – The (slight) rebound in real estate rates is confirmed
1.04%, all durations combined, in October 2021. Then 1.07% in January 2022. And now 1.09% in February 2022. A micro rebound more than a sharp rise, but a clear beginning of a slope ascending: Rates are starting to rise again, in a moderate way in February, according to the Crédit Logement-CSA observatory, a reference in the sector. In this month of February, the average rate of mortgages is thus comparable to that observed a year earlier (1.10% in March 2021).
The increase is less significant on the longest loans, adds the observatory. Banks continue to seek to preserve access to credit for first-time buyers and certain first-time investors. Nevertheless. A whole symbol: the average loan over 20 years goes back above the 1% mark.
What rate over 15, 20 and 25 years?
Here are the averages communicated by the Crdit Logement-CSA observatory, which confirms the trends noted by credit brokers.
- Home loan over 15 years: 0.93% in February, against 0.86% last December
- Over 20 years: 1.03% vs. 0.99%
- Over 25 years: 1.17% vs. 1.13%
On 25 yearsaccording to this observatory, the best rates (the 25% most favored files) are negotiated 0.98% and the worst (the 25% of borrowers with less favorable applications) 1.42%.
Real estate loan: the rise in rates is accelerating
2 – Ever longer loans (but not beyond 25 years)
Since November 2021, the average duration has remained high, despite the fluctuations observed from one month to the next, underlines Crdit Logement-CSA. While it was 13.6 years in 2001 (163 months), it was 19.9 years in February 2022. And again, this average duration includes all kinds of credits.
When the observatory concentrates on the principal residence, the lengthening of the duration of credit – which makes it possible to be able to borrow larger amounts – is even clearer: For the only accession market (main residence), 63.7% of bank loans were granted for a period between more than 20 and 25 years in February. This is the highest proportion ever recorded. On the other hand, banks only exceptionally exceed 25 years of credit, following the rules laid down by the High Council for Financial Stability.
Real estate credit: what changed for borrowing on January 1, 2022
3 – Fewer loans than in 2021
In January and February 2022, in the context of strict application of the HCSF recommendations, the number of loans granted fell by -1.5%, year-on-year [par rapport janvier et fvrier 2021, NDLR]even if the month of February was less disrupted than January.
On the other hand, the amounts borrowed are higher in January-February 2022 than a year earlier, which goes in particular with the rise in real estate prices. And the observatory reminds us that the 2021/2022 comparison must be taken with a grain of salt: the months of January and February had been disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic, before a clear recovery in the mortgage loan market in March. To be continued…
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