Banks were lending at an average of 3.6% over twenty years in September, compared to 4.3% in December 2023. This good news translates into hard cash for borrowers. A monthly payment of 1,000 euros allows you to borrow 171,000 euros today excluding insurance, compared to 162,000 euros at the end of 2023. At the same time, buyers are taking advantage of the contraction in property prices, with declines of 4. 8% over one year in Paris and 1.9% on average in the ten main cities of France, according to the latest SeLoger Meilleurs Agents barometer. “The situation is favorable for borrowers who can negotiate both the price of the property they want and the conditions of their credit,” summarizes Maël Bernier, the spokesperson for Meilleurtaux.
The best files already obtain 3.4% over twenty years, according to Cafpi. “Banks should continue to lower the rate of their real estate loans in the coming months in a context of easing of the key rates of the European Central Bank (ECB)”, indicates Caroline Arnould, the general director of Cafpi, who anticipates loans on twenty years at 3% by the end of the year. Indeed, the ECB once again reduced its key rate to 3.5% on September 12, after a first step in June, in a context of reduced inflation and sluggish growth.
Dead calm on the market
In addition, the rate of the ten-year government bond on the French market, the 10-year OAT, is also on a downward slope, at around 2.8% currently, compared to 3.5% a year ago. is one year old. This allows banks to make a margin when granting a loan to their customers. “Real estate credit is a profitable activity for banks, but it is above all an operation to win over customers,” notes Pierre de Buhren, general manager of Empruntis. They are therefore ready to make efforts to attract a new customer, especially since many of them are behind on their credit production objectives, the real estate market being very calm.
The number of transactions is expected to fall to less than 800,000 this year, according to SeLoger Meilleurs Agents, after 900,000 in 2023 and more than a million in 2021 and 2022, two years during which borrowing rates were at the bottom. This is reflected in the production of new credits: it was limited to 47.3 billion euros in the first half of 2024, down 36% compared to the first half of 2023. However, a tremor has been felt since this summer since it reached 11.3 billion euros in July, the highest since May 2023.
Loans at subsidized rates for young people
The banks are therefore open to negotiation but this does not mean that they are less demanding on borrowers’ files. They require a minimum of 10% deposit, even if we have seen, in recent months, banks accepting operations without deposit in the provinces. “It is advisable not to invest all your savings in the contribution: it is better to keep part of it to place it in the bank, and to draw on it in the event of a hard hit,” however, recommends Sandrine Allonier, spokesperson for Vousfinancer.
To complete your operation, you also need to think about the various subsidized loans on the market. They are mostly reserved for borrowers with modest incomes, such as the zero-interest loan or the Action Logement accession loan. But certain establishments grant loans at subsidized rates to young people, without resource conditions, in amounts of up to 20,000 euros.
The borrower must also remain below the debt rate ceiling of 35% set by the High Financial Stability Council. A rule that is easier to respect thanks to the drop in interest rates, which reduces the monthly payment for the same amount borrowed. Another solution, the delegation of loan insurance – it covers the borrower in the event of death or disability – also allows savings to be made. It should be taken out not with the bank granting the credit but with another direct insurer. The rate offered by the banks amounts on average to 0.32%, compared to 0.15% in the case of delegation for a borrower aged 35 to 50 ensuring a loan of 200,000 euros over twenty years, according to the broker Reassure me. An avenue to significantly reduce the bill over a long period of time.
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