According to the September Housing Credit Demand Index, interest in home loans has fallen by almost 70%. The Credit Information Bureau (BIK) compared data from September 2021 and September 2022.

“The September reading of the BIK Housing Loan Demand Index confirms that high interest rates, tighter regulatory requirements and fears of the effects of the economic slowdown and even a possible recession have effectively frozen demand for housing loans”, explains Professor Waldemar Rogowski, chief analyst of the BIK Group.

The BIK analysis shows that a total of 41.94 thousand potential borrowers applied for loans in September last year. This year, it was 13.58 thousand. Currently, the average value of a home loan is PLN 337.82 thousand. This is 3.4% less than a year earlier.

Rogowski adds, however, that “in September we are noting the ‘first signs of life’. Compared to August this year, both components on which the Index is calculated, i.e. the number of applicants and the average amount of credit applied for, have moved up”. Compared to August 2022, the number of people applying for a home loan increased by 9.6 %.

The September value of the Housing Credit Demand Index was negatively impacted by almost 68% fewer applicants than a year ago. This is the second lowest figure since January 2007, i.e. in the 15 years since BIK has been analysing the number of applicants.

“There was, however, a small light at the end of the tunnel. For the first time in six months, the number of applicants has increased on a month-on-month basis. This may partly be due to an increase in the number of co-borrowers applying for the same loan in order to increase creditworthiness”, explains the expert.

Arkadiusz Słomczyński