2023-04-17 18:30:00
All grids received by brokers are up for April. With credit rates mostly between 3 and 3.80%, some households may once more have difficulty obtaining a loan due to wear ratesrates beyond which a bank cannot lend money.
A situation which had been blocking at the end of last year and whose consequences are reflected in the credit production figures published by the Banque de France, which have been falling for a year and at their lowest since 2015 in March.
Scales up by 0.10 to 0.50 points in April
An acceleration in the rise in rates is felt in April: the scales received by mortgage brokers show increases of 0.10 to 0.50 points.
Three regional banks have thus increased their rates by more than 0.40 points compared with the month of March, indicates the broker Vousfinancer. “Compared to the end of December 2022, some banks have thus raised their credit rates in total between 0.80 and 1 point!, notes Julie Bachet, its managing director. An unprecedented increase in its speed and magnitude…”
Credit rates above 3%
Most scales now offer rates above 3% on all durations. “For the first time in almost 10 years, we are once once more seeing a bank offer a rate of 4.05% over 25 years! Even if for the moment, these rates are not applicable because of the usury rates at 4.24%, this shows that the recovery is not over”, indicates Sandrine Allonier, spokesperson for Vousfinancer.
Credit rates thus reach on average in March 3% over 15 years, 3.2% over 20 years and 3.5% over 25 years, according to Vousfinancer. The broker Empruntis mentions similar rates: 3.05% over 15 years, 3.15% over 20 years and 3.25% over 25 years.
Wear rates that might once once more be blocking…
Even though wear rates are up significantly once more in Aprilby 0.24 points on credit terms of 20 years and over and by 1.19 points in total compared to the end of 2022, in this context of a rapid rise in credit rates, they might once once more be a barrier to access to credit. “Some banks even now set their loan rate with reference to the usury rate,” remarks Cécile Roquelaure, director of studies at Empruntis.
Under these conditions, there is little room for borrower insurance and credit-related costs. And we are not at the end of the difficulties. New banks are warning regarding their level of liquidity and therefore their ability to finance households. »
Borrowing for longer periods: a solution?
According to the broker Cafpi, due to the rise in rates, between March 2022 and March 2023, borrowers lost on average real estate purchasing power of – 16.61 m² in Marseille, – 12.23 m² in Strasbourg or even – 3.89 m² in Lyon.
“One of the solutions to compensate for this decline in borrowing capacity may be to borrow over longer periods, although limited to 25 years by the recommendations of the High Council for Financial Stability (HCSF). But then there is the problem of the rate of wear, which is the same over the durations of 20 and 25 years, whereas the differences in rates over these two durations reach an average of 0.20 point. This leads to refusals over the longest periods, which are sometimes recommended for first-time buyers in particular, ”analyzes Julie Bachet of Vousfinancer.
Real estate credit: towards a relaxation of the rules
With 14.6 billion euros in February (i.e. -7% compared to January) and a further drop expected to 13.7 billion in March, the production of new housing loans reached its lowest level since 2015, according to the latest figures from the Banque de France. Statistics that have been falling for a year now, which clearly illustrate the deterioration in loan access conditions.
Faced with this situation, the High Council for Financial Stability (HCSF) does not rule out easing the rules it made mandatory for banks on 1is January 2022 : the debt ratio of 35% maximum and loan terms that cannot go beyond 25 years.
The objective: that these standards “do not become an obstacle to access to credit”, declared the Ministry of the Economy to AFP. Assessments are currently being carried out with the HCSF, the Banque de France and credit players.
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