Record cheap mortgage credits predicted for 2013

“Interest rates on mortgage credits may decrease further in 2013, although at the end of last year, they reaching their low levels from before the crisis,” commented Tihomir Toshev, Executive Director of Credit Center. According to him, interest rates on mortgage loans will go down by another 0.25-0.5 percentage points in the coming months and will be in the range of 5.75% -6.5% towards the end of the year. “Thus, the annual percentage rate (APR), including fees and commissions charged in addition to the interest rate on some newly extended loans may drop below 7% (around 8% on average in December), which would be a record low for this type of credits,” said Toshev.

He predicted that at the background of the material status of people in the country, the growth of housing loans during the year will not be high – only a few percent, but in 2012, it was only about 1%. The credit expert specified that these very cheap mortgages will probably be extended only to solvent borrowers, i.e. those with a monthly income of above BGN 1,500, well educated and with good work, without overdue liabilities. Some banks may renegotiate lower interest rates for credits extended some years or offer more advantageous terms for refinancing loans.

In 2012, the average amount of borrowed mortgage loans was around €30,000 and the average monthly instalment – BGN 400-600. These parameters are not expected to change significantly this year.

A trend that began last year and continues in 2013 is the emergence and increase of newly granted housing loans with a fixed interest rate. Another characteristic feature of credits is the increase of loans negotiated in Bulgarian currency, which exceeded those in euros at the end of 2012.

According to a survey of Credit Center, about 6% of the people with loans from banks found it “very difficult” to repay them in 2012, while the share of such borrowers was 9% in 2011. Borrowers with overdue liabilities are expected to be below 6% this year.

Although the so-called “fast loans” extended by non-financial institutions are very expensive, their volume will increase, too, said Tihomir Toshev. The reason is the inability of some people to pay even some of their daily expenses and bills.

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