2023-09-25 04:00:48
The fall in the production of real estate loans in France
The “production” of credits in the second quarter of 2023, i.e. the number of files accepted by lending institutions, fell 40.8% compared to the same period in 2022, according to the Crédit Logement/CSA Observatory. This spectacular decline highlighted the difficulties encountered by households in accessing financing for their project.
However, who says difficulty in accessing credit also means the impossibility of purchasing. The real estate market as a whole therefore finds itself a victim, partly collateral, of the reluctance of banks to lend money. Or their impossibility. Because banks cannot deviate from the rules imposed by the HCSF (High Financial Stability Council).
Currently, the maximum household debt rate is set by the HCSF at 35% of income, insurance included. This rate limits access to credit for many French people, particularly those who are at the borrowing limit. Or even first-time buyers, who have less down payment… and are therefore forced to borrow larger sums.
Sacha Houlié proposes even higher household debt
Sacha Houlié, Renaissance MP, suggested “ raise the maximum household debt rate » to stimulate the real estate market. He sent a letter to the High Financial Stability Council (HCSF), he said on FranceInfo, to plead in favor of relaxation. “ We realize that there are plenty of French people who are at the limit of borrowing, who cannot borrow because the rules are too strict. »
Sacha Houlie did not specify FranceInfo the new maximum debt rate proposed. But he insisted that current rules deprive many households of access to mortgage credit. A relaxation would make it possible to “ would unlock many individual situations and give a welcome new lease of life to housing construction or renovations “, according to him.
Real estate: a relaxation of credit conditions “under study”, assures Sacha Houlié
— franceinfo (@franceinfo) September 24, 2023
Bercy is not once morest increasing debt, but is not for it either
Bruno Le Maire, Minister of the Economy, indicated that he was studying this hypothesis of increasing the maximum debt rate. A hypothesis already put on the table previously. But Bruno Le Maire ended up excluding this option, fearing financial instability. Has he changed his mind? Initially, the idea was to increase the maximum household debt rate to 37% of their monthly income, compared to 35% currently.
Bercy above all encouraged banks to use all the flexibilities already in place, which were relaxed during the first half of 2023. Because the risk of instability is real: if the HCSF authorizes higher household debt, the latter find themselves in a more fragile situation in the face of over-indebtedness.
Still, unblocking the real estate market, and particularly the credit market, might restore dynamism to a sector in crisis. Faced with the drop in the number of loans granted, which leads to a drop in sales and purchases, more and more real estate agencies are going bankrupt in France.
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