To obtain a mortgage, in 2022, is it really necessary to display a personal contribution? Banks are more cautious to lend without, especially because they are reluctant to finance certain costs. But it is still possible for some files.
On April 7, a report from the Finance Conseil brokerage network reported a spectacular increase in the personal contribution required to be able to hope for a mortgage in France. According to this report, it is now necessary to present an average contribution of 52,594 euros to obtain a mortgage, against 29,405 euros in the first quarter of 2021. A sum that many, especially first-time buyersdoes not have.
Admittedly, these are only averages… but they reflect a clear evolution in banking requirements. The trend is not entirely new: at the end of 2021, according to the Crdit Logement-CSA observatory, it was necessary to plan in mean an equivalent contribution 18.5% of the amount of the real estate acquisitioncompared to 15% at the end of 2019. More concretely, to buy a home for 250,000 eurosthis means that the borrowers have advanced an average contribution exceeding the 45000 euros. So, is it still possible today to borrow without contribution?
Fewer and fewer people can borrow without contribution
Fewer and fewer people can borrow without contribution, poses Ccile Roquelaure, director of studies of the broker Empruntis. However, there are exceptions. For example, we can finance young first-time buyers in more relaxed areas. Mal Bernier, spokesperson for Meilleurtaux, confirms this trend: There are locally some possibilities of borrowing without contribution, for first-time buyers, on small loansoften less than 150,000 euros.
Young people with development prospects
The profile is slightly different at La Centrale de Financement. For its president Sylvain Lefvre, the files accepted without contribution are rather those of young engineers at the start of their career. An attractive profile for banks, as Ccile Roquelaure explains: People who have just entered working life and who have not been able to save money but who have development prospects can benefit from a loan without contribution. The banker must feel that there is potential to set aside savings in the short term.
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Logically, banks will be better able to lend, even without contribution, to a borrower who demonstrates good management of his accounts. Savings are also taken into account in the bank’s choice to lend or not: People with enough savings can also borrow without contribution, confirms Ccile Roquelaure, because the logic of banks is to lend people who have room for maneuver and can face a hard blow.
Banks believe that they did not finance notary fees, guarantee fees or administrative fees
As you will have understood, borrowing without contribution is not the rule as it was in 2019, but on a case-by-case basis, the banks can do it, concludes Mal Bernier. But even if you don’t fall into this category, the future may not be so bleak. Because Ccile Roquelaure positions herself against the current discourse concerning the contribution requested by the bankswhich would be on the rise: The studies are carried out in very urban areas, which skews the statistics a little.
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Blame it on rising house prices
If it does not deny the average increase in the contribution, it would not in fact have much to do with the banks: It is not the banks which require more contribution. On the other hand, your borrowing capacity is linked to your income. However, the prices of the real estate took 15%, without the incomes increasing as quickly. So if I still want the same surface with the same income, the only lever is the contribution. Buyers are obliged to increase the contribution to have the property they want. But that’s because of the skyrocketing prices!
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The banks, for their part, continue to ask minimum contribution of costs in 90% of cases notes Borrowing. They believe that they did not finance the notary fees, the guarantee fees or the administrative fees (which correspond to approximately 10%) because if ever you have to resell in 2 or 3 years, you will not have generated 10% of capital gain. This is what the banks ask for with the contribution.
How to calculate 10% contribution?
You are aiming for a home a value of 250000 euros. The bank asks you for a standard contribution of 10% to cover the costs of real estate acquisition – the famous notary fees – and other real estate agency fees. You must therefore make a contribution of approximately 25,000 euros to be able to finance your operation. And the bank lends you 250,000 euros.
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