The value of inquiries for housing loans increased by 51.8% year-on-year in June 2024, according to the BIK Index of Demand for Housing Loans. This index indicates that in June 2024, banks and credit unions sent inquiries to BIK for housing loans amounting to 51.8% more than in June 2023, calculated per working day.
In June 2024, 27.45 thousand potential borrowers applied for housing loans compared to 22.01 thousand a year earlier, translating to an almost 25% year-on-year increase. Compared to May 2024, the number of people applying for a housing loan also increased by 1.7%.
The average value of the requested housing loan in June 2024 was 442.83 thousand PLN, which was 15.9% higher than in June 2023. Compared to May 2024, it slightly increased by 1.7%.
– The demand for housing loans, after the end of the application period for the Safe Loan 2% Program, is currently about 30-40% lower than in the second half of 2023. Despite concerns, it did not fall to the level before the program was launched, as it remains significantly higher compared to the first half of last year.
An important factor influencing the current reading of the Demand Index is the increased number of applicants, which rose from 22.01 thousand in June 2023 to 27.45 thousand this June. This approximately 25% increase in the number of applicants is largely a result of the previous “freeze” in demand for housing loans due to high-interest rates and a real decline in wages, as well as postponing loan applications under market conditions in anticipation of the support program. As a result, we now have the effect of last year’s low base, which partly accounts for the still high level of the index in June. However, this effect will gradually diminish in the coming months in favor of the opposite effect, i.e., the high base of the second half of 2023. Consequently, this will contribute to a decrease in the index value in the following months of this year. The absence of a new government support program will stabilize the number of applicants at around twenty-something thousand people – explains Dr. hab. Waldemar Rogowski, Chief Analyst of the BIK Group.
– The second important aspect determining the level of the BIK Index of Demand for Housing Loans is the increase in the average loan amount to a historically record value of 442.83 thousand PLN – an amount nearly 16% higher than in June 2023. This is a result of still rising real estate prices, undoubtedly also supported by higher creditworthiness resulting from real wage growth with stable interest rates – he adds.
