Banks granted RON740 million worth of loans to those looking to buy a home in April, and mortgage lending stood at more than RON2.8 billion in the first four months, Romania’s central bank data show.
Mortgage lending is booming and going through its best time ever, as the need to buy a home and the optimism about Romania’s economy are making more and more Romanians go to a bank.
The rising demand for homes and loans shows in the type of product customers prefer. Whereas the First Home government-backed scheme used to be main way for people to buy a home in the past, now the standard loan, which competes with the First Home loan on equal footing is preferred, loan brokers say.
Moreover, the volatility of interests makes debtors seek standard loans that come with a fixed-interest for the first five to ten years, shielding them from the potentially nasty surprises of the ROBOR index used as a reference to set leu loan rates. (EUR1=RON4.6485)
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)