Far fewer people applied for a mortgage in the third quarter, now that interest rates on these loans have risen rapidly. There was less demand to convert existing mortgages in particular, but there were also fewer homebuyers knocking on the bank’s door to get a mortgage.
De Hypotheker reported this based on its own numbers, which indicate that the housing market is slowing further. According to the Mortgage Advisors Chain, the total number of applications is down 20 percent compared to the same period last year. Lenders received three-quarters of fewer applications for mortgage refinancing. The number of mortgage applications to buy a home decreased by 7 per cent.
Due to higher interest rates, home buyers can usually borrow less money. This is also reflected in the average home mortgage amount. In July, August and September this amount was 309,000 euros at De Hypotheker. A year ago, that was still 324,000 euros.
According to commercial director Mino Luten, demand for mortgages rose again at the end of the third quarter, but that was not enough to offset the sharp decline in previous months. “In August this drop was 15 per cent and in September the tipping point has been reached and we see a slight increase of about 3 per cent. This is a positive development.”
Young Buyers
According to De Hypotheker, it is remarkable that young homebuyers often apply for a mortgage to buy a home. Among the group of homebuyers up to age 35, the number of applications increased by 13 percent. Additionally, the number of applications for a loan to make a home more sustainable rose 9 percent, a much smaller increase than in the second quarter. In that time, the number of applications for sustainable mortgages nearly halved year-over-year.
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