French Government Aims to Boost Mortgage Loans Production

The government wants to boost the production of mortgage loans. The State intends in particular to encourage the banks to draw more widely from the derogatory files and to support the investors by reintegrating the component of “rest to live”.

Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne indicated this on Wednesday April 26; it’s necessary

“improving access to housing for all French people”

. For this, the head of government will put in place a roadmap which contains the extension of the zero-rate loan (PTZ), but also actions to

“Improving household access to credit”

reports

Capital

.

The real estate market is taking a hit. In the first quarter of 2023, the number of home loans granted fell by 40.6% compared to the same period in 2022, according to data from the Crédit Logement CSA Observatory. On the credit production side, it’s the same trend. To allow a greater number of French people to access mortgages, the government could

“soften”

the rules governing the granting of housing loans, as suggested on April 23, 2023 by the Minister of Economy and Finance Bruno Le Maire in the program

8:30 p.m. Sunday

.

Banks too cautious

Two rules can limit the number of loan applicants. The debt ratio set at 35% of net income before tax is a serious constraint. There is also the impossibility of contracting a loan for periods greater than 25 years, except in the case of off-plan sales. But the banks have the possibility of derogating from these rules for 20% of their files. However, it appears that banks only use this exception for 14% of requests. There remains a margin of 6%.

“With Bercy, we are going to discuss with the banks to understand why they do not mobilize this margin to the end for first-time buyers”

, said the office of Housing Minister Olivier Klein. If the reasons do not seem good, they will be told clearly. The idea is to challenge them to show that their fears of lending are exaggerated”.

It’s not just first-time buyers who are targeted by the government. The objective is also to stimulate investment. Only 4% of candidate investors are concerned by derogatory files. It is therefore a question of reintegrating the component of “remainder to live”. It will thus no longer be necessary to take account of the 35% indebtedness rule, from the moment the household has enough income at the end of the month to live on.