Bigbank: No Summer Break, Home Loan Agreements Increased by 10% in July

Despite the warm summer and vacation period, 10% more new home loan agreements were concluded in July compared to the previous month, and the average home loan amount was 134,370 euros, according to Bigbank's loan portfolio analysis.

According to Arthur Taavet, head of Bigbank Estonia, the home loan market has remained active since March, and there are currently no signs of slowdown. "We have felt an improvement in credit confidence since spring, which has also led to an increase in the number of home purchase transactions. Since the number of new loan applications reached a record level in July this year, we can expect solid results in the coming months as well," said Bigbank's head optimistically.

The average loan amount in July of 134,370 euros is indeed lower than in June, but according to Arthur Taavet, the fluctuation is within normal limits. "The more transactions there are in one month, the smaller the impact of individual large contracts on the overall portfolio. At the same time, it is clear that people's incomes and borrowing capacity have grown in the last half of the year," explains Taavet, who notes that the average loan amount has remained between 120-140 thousand euros over the past couple of years, but now this range is rather between 130-150 thousand euros.

Bigbank's head emphasizes again that for every significant transaction, it is certainly worth getting offers from several banks, because despite the same general rules, banks treat clients and their loan wishes differently. "Large banks often have a rather rigid framework that the applicant and their desired new home must fit into, which is why negative responses are rather more common. A first 'no' never automatically means that the same answer will come from every bank, and everything often depends on how thoroughly the bank delves into the client's wishes," explains Taavet, who notes that it is clear that Bigbank, as a domestic bank, views all of Estonian life and local conditions, especially what happens in regions far from the capital, somewhat differently than how it is seen in the headquarters of some large bank located abroad.