Balance of “Safe Credit”: a chance for housing for 52,000 people. people, price increases for everyone
By mid-December, the number of applications for the “Safe 2% loan” exceeded 82.4 thousand During this time, banks granted loans to 52,000. people. In order not to give customers false hopes, three banks have already informed that they are suspending the acceptance of further applications.
The end of the year is approaching, so we can start summarizing the “Safe 2% Loan” program, which has had the greatest impact on the real estate market in our country in the last two quarters. On the one hand, it enabled over 52,000 people (households) purchasing an apartment – this is how many agreements banks concluded by December 14. On the other hand, the subsidies resulted in an increase in real estate prices – in particular, the prices of apartments within the range enabling obtaining the government subsidy went up halfway through the year.
Due to “Safe Credit”, real estate prices increased
Effect: data from the bigdata.rynekprimotny.pl website for September 2023 show that the most expensive are in Warsaw (PLN 15,765), Kraków (PLN 15,223) and the Tricity (PLN 13,547). It is slightly cheaper, but still in double digits, in Wrocław (PLN 12,898) and Poznań (PLN 11,606). In December, prices rose even more.
It is not known whether the program will continue next year. When information appeared that the subsidies might end any day now, customers started storming the banks again. Again – after banks were flooded with loan applications in July and August, the number of applicants dropped significantly in the fall.
– We have never recorded such a weekly inflow of applications. The number of concluded t/t contracts is also historically the highest. The threshold of 50k contracts has been exceeded – Agnieszka Wachnicka, vice-president of the Association of Polish Banks, wrote a few days ago on the X website.
Banks are preparing for the possibility that there will be no continuation of “BK2” and are stopping accepting applications. First, the Environmental Protection Bank announced that it would stop accepting applications on December 29 this year. It was explained that this decision aims to ensure that the bank processes all applications submitted by then by January 7, 2024. BOŚ pointed out that this decision should not be interpreted as the bank’s withdrawal from the First Apartment program. In turn, PKO BP, the largest operator in the program, announced a few days ago that it will accept applications until December 20. On Friday, Santander Bank announced that it would suspend accepting applications on December 29.
“Safe Credit” is most often used by single people
PKO BP bank analyzed 38 thousand. applications that were received from July to October this year, i.e. in the first four months of the “First Apartment” program, and on this basis he created a profile of a typical beneficiary of government subsidies.
– We looked at who the borrowers are, how old they are, where they live, and their income. Whether they are single or buying a property as a couple. What is their current housing status and what kind of apartment can they afford with the support of BK 2 percent? – write PKO BP analysts. Who is the average beneficiary of the program – we write below.
