Bigbank: All indicators in the home loan market moved sharply upward during the month, average loan amount even exceeded 147 thousand euros

In March, the number of new home loan contracts grew by almost a tenth, with the average issued home loan being 147,204 euros, which exceeds the previous month by almost 23% and is significantly larger than the typical level of recent years, according to Bigbank's home loan portfolio analysis.

According to Arthur Taavet, head of Bigbank Estonia, the growth in market activity is particularly noticeable in terms of new loan applications, with more than a third more received compared to February. "The sharp growth in the number of new loan applications indicates that interest in home purchases is clearly higher compared to both previous months and last spring. We are very likely to see active home buyers also in April and May," comments Arthur Taavet.

The average loan amount was 147,204, which significantly exceeds the 120,000 to 140,000 euro corridor typical of recent years. "People's incomes have been slowly growing in recent years, so it is logical that many are considering a larger investment when buying a home, which moves the average loan amount upward along with it," analyzes Arthur Taavet, who notes that this is already the second time in the past six months that the monthly average loan amount is significantly larger than usual. Compared to February, the total volume of home loans issued by Bigbank increased by almost a fifth in monthly terms.

Taavet considers the rapid growth in the average loan amount particularly remarkable for Bigbank in a situation where the bank pays a lot of attention to people who want to purchase a new home in major attractions outside the main centers. "We want people to be able to take out a loan to buy a new home in any corner of Estonia they love. If the rigid frameworks of large banks don't always allow this, then Bigbank looks at both the location of the property and the person's income with Estonian common sense and understanding," promises the bank's head and emphasizes that when getting a better offer, a home loan application should always be made to several different banks, and even a quick rejection is not yet a reason to abandon home purchase plans.