Banks are waiting for the next government program – and they are generously tempting customers

The “Safe 2% Loan” program benefited not only those who were able to buy a flat or build a house thanks to the subsidy, but also banks and developers who, during the months of stagnation, had someone to lend money to and sell flats to. However, everyone who intended to buy real estate but did not qualify for the subsidy lost out on the government program – and as a result, they paid more for it than before July 2023, when the program was launched.

The creditworthiness of Poles is increasing

At the end of last year, the program ceased to apply, and its continuation – Mieszkanie na start – will start in the middle of the year. Until then, only people who are able to raise money without government assistance can buy an apartment. This is also a worse time for banks, because many customers who qualify for the new program will wait several months before making a purchase. Therefore, interest in mortgage loans is decreasing.

However, financial institutions are not waiting on their hands. HREIT pointed out that, not wanting to lose the flow of customers, banks are facilitating access to financing and assessing customers’ creditworthiness more graciously.

The January HREIT survey shows that for a three-person family with an income at the level of two national averages, the creditworthiness increased to PLN 672,000. zloty. According to HREIT expert Bartosz Turek, it is more than 45 percent. more than a year ago, and compared to December, creditworthiness has already increased by over 34,000. PLN, i.e. by over 5%.

– This is a very big change for one month. It cannot be justified by increasing wages or a decrease in interest rates, because both of these changes occurred last month, but on a too small scale to justify more than 5%. increase in creditworthiness. The explanation can be found in the fact that the Safe Credit 2% program ended at the end of December. For banks, this means a clear decline in demand for loans. Therefore, they should want more ordinary customers to be able to get a mortgage loan. The way to do this is to have a higher creditworthiness, Turek noted.

The expert also predicts that if rates are reduced from the current level of 5.75% and salaries continue to increase (in December, the average salary exceeded PLN 8,000 gross), “the creditworthiness of Poles has strong grounds for growth in 2024.” .

Starter apartment for whom?

The age limit for singles in the program will be 35 years. Other farms will not have such a limit. However, there will be income limits, the thresholds are to be:

• 10 thousand PLN gross for a single room

• 18 thousand for 2 persons

• 23 thousand for 3 people

• 28 thousand for 4 people

• 33 thousand for 5 people.

Interest subsidies will be available for 10 years, but will amount to no more than:

• 200 thousand PLN for a single-person household

• 400 thousand PLN for a 2-person room

• 450 thousand PLN for a 3-person room

• 50 thousand each for each additional person.

The Minister of Development and Technology announced that the government’s new housing program will be launched in mid-year. Krzysztof Hetman also announced that PLN 500 million has been reserved for the program in the 2024 budget.