Mortgage interest rates remained stable in January at 1.17%, according to the monthly benchmark study published on Tuesday.
The average rate of new loans was established at the same level in December after increasing “by 16 basis points between March and June” before losing 10 points during the second half of the year, says the Housing Credit Observatory / CSA, which associates the main French banks with a market research institute.
However, this rate has not returned to its pre-containment level, adds the Observatory.
In January, the highest wages benefited from the most attractive rates.
Thus, for borrowers whose income is at least equal to 3 minimum wage, the average rate fell by 3 basis points between December and January, ie “1.13% for 3 to 5 minimum wage and 1% for 5 minimum wage and more. “, but” it increased by 3 points for less than 3 minimum wage for a rate of 1.25%, “said the Observatory.
The average loan term in January stood at 227 months, its fall 2019 level, after reaching an all-time high of 235 months in October.
This average duration had increased from the beginning of the summer “in order to absorb the consequences of the rise in house prices” but it had started to decline from December, a decline which continued in January, depending on the organization.
The number of mortgage loans fell in France in 2020 despite still very low interest rates, activity being weighed down by the consequences of the health crisis to the detriment of the poorest in particular.
The total number of new loans fell 18.1% last year.
At the end of 2020, “the implementation of the second confinement affected the conditions for carrying out real estate projects for households and caused the abandonment of planned operations”, explained the observatory in December.
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