Decline in new housing loans

Rising interest rates seriously hurt mortgage credit, affecting both the demand and supply for mortgages. This stems from the figures of the Bank of Greece, based on which mortgage disbursements fell in the second quarter of 2023 by 10.7%, while in the same period the number of loans granted showed a greater decline of 12.4%.

Loan disbursements fell from 270.3 million euros to €241.5 million, while the number of loan contracts signed was reduced from 3,535 to 3,097.

The picture at the six-month level is not particularly differentiated, as despite the marginal increase of 1.8% in disbursements to €507.8 million from €498.7 million in the first half of 2022, the number of housing contracts signed decreased marginally to 6,578 in the first half of 2023 from 6,596 in the corresponding period last year. 

As BoG notes in its recent financial stability report,...