The mortgage credit market is an indicative index of the health of the economy in Belgium. Indeed, Belgians still consider real estate investment to be predominant in the allocation of their budget expenses. Thus, an increase or conversely a contraction in either the number of contracts or the amounts borrowed has real value in terms of micro-economic analysis on the Belgian markets.
The mortgage credit market is stable
The number of mortgage credit contracts concluded in the July-September period is slightly lower than in the previous quarter, but the total amount of funds borrowed has remained around 5 billion euros.
The latest statistics published by the Professional Credit Union (UPC) show that 46,000 mortgage credit contracts were signed, which is 2,000 less than the previous quarter. The decrease in the number of contracts is almost entirely due to the observed decrease in renovation loans (-1,700).
Over a year, we still note a contraction of 9% in the number of contracts and 8% in terms of amounts borrowed.
The average amount borrowed is stable. For the purchase of a home, the average is 135,000 €, which is a status quo compared to the previous quarter.
It should also be noted that 78% of borrowers opted for a fixed rate in the third quarter.
We can therefore conclude that, in general, the economy is no longer regressing but is not growing either.