Romania remains one of the countries with the lowest mortgage penetration rates in the European Union, according to a Colliers’ analysis.  

Mortgage loans totaling €7.3 billion were granted in Romania during the first 10 months of 2024, up by 43% compared to the same period of last year, according to an analysis by SVN Romania.

Mortgage loans worth €5.5 billion were granted in total at a national level in the first eight months of 2024, up 49% compared with the same period of last year, according to data from the National Bank of Romania (NBR). 

The average flat size in Poland is 21 sqm smaller than the EU average and the overcrowding rate is nearly 20 percentage points higher, says Cushman & Wakefield in its latest report. It is therefore no wonder that despite increasingly prohibitive prices, housing demand continues to grow, thereby fuelling demand for mortgages. According to BIK data, June 2024 saw an almost 52% year-on-year increase in mortgage enquiries, with this growth also driven by interest rate cuts - the first since 2021. It would take Polish people wanting to buy a dream home several years to save up enough for a 20% mortgage deposit. Unfortunately, Cushman & Wakefield’s forecasts indicate that price growth is unlikely to ease to give Polish consumers some respite. Contrary to intentions, factors that are likely to add to their disadvantage include a new governmental support scheme and constrained land availability.  

The volume of new mortgage loans amounted to €1.1 billion in Q1 2024, up by around 29% compared to the same period of last year, according to a report by SVN Romania | Credit & Financial Solutions.

The beginning of February has brought a sharp fall in bank rates in the Czech Republic, and housing loans are thus the cheapest in more than a year and a half, E15.cz reports.

Governments in Hungary and Poland have introduced new and renewed schemes to push the local housing market. The mortgage market has already shown some positive signs in both countries. However, the residential markets still face several problems which can not be solved quickly, says Guy Dymschiz, co-CEO of Duna House Group, active in Hungary and Poland.

Home buyers in Romania have among the lowest instalment payments for mortgages across the EU, according to a SVN Romania report.

The “2% Safe Mortgage” housing loan subsidy programme introduced by Poland's Law and Justice (PiS) party has caused housing prices in Poland to shoot into space. However, the new government in Warsaw cannot abolish it, as a spike in demand could shake up the entire domestic property development industry.

The number of transactions this year is likely to catch up with last year's results, brokerage firm Duna House reports.