Bigbank: the gap widened, Estonians' home loans were even larger than neighbors' at year-end

In the fourth quarter of the past year, the average home loan amount in Estonia was 141 thousand euros, which is more than twice higher than the average home loans of Latvians and also almost one and a half times higher than Lithuanians, according to Bigbank's comparison of home loan portfolios in the Baltic countries. 

The average loan amount of concluded home loan agreements in the fourth quarter was 141,166 euros in Estonia, 63,321 euros in Latvia, and 97,818 euros in Lithuania. "Real estate prices in Latvia are still cheaper, which is also confirmed by a significantly smaller average loan amount. Meanwhile, the difference between the average loans issued in Estonia and Lithuania became record-breakingly large in the fourth quarter," comments Arthur Taavet, head of Bigbank Estonia, and recalls that two years ago in the same period, the average loan issued in Lithuania was even slightly larger than in Estonia. Over the past two years, the loan amounts taken by Estonians have gradually grown while Lithuanians' have remained at approximately the same level until recently.  

However, changes occurred in the fourth quarter, as compared to the previous quarter, the loan amount increased by 12% in Estonia and decreased by 9% in Lithuania, while loan amounts in Latvia remained at the previous level. "Since the total number of concluded loan agreements in Lithuania increased and in Estonia decreased by approximately one tenth, the total amount of loans issued in both countries still remained at the same level as the previous quarter," describes Taavet recent events in the Baltic countries' home loan market. 

According to Bigbank's head, the average loan amount in Estonia made a big jump upwards precisely in December, when it reached more than 172 thousand euros and was 30% higher compared to November. "Over the past two years, we have seen how Estonians' borrowing confidence is gradually recovering with tiny steps," comments Arthur Taavet, according to whom home loan interest rates and the Euribor level also favor lending today. "At these margin levels, no bank can afford a price war, and so the key question going forward is who wants to and is able to understand the home buyer better, their wishes and needs," explains Taavet, adding that over the past year Bigbank has put special focus on so-called underserved groups—creditworthy people in every way who have nonetheless received negative responses from rigid large banks.  

Bigbank AS (www.bigbank.ee), with an operational history of more than 30 years, is a commercial bank owned by Estonian capital. As of September 30, 2025, the bank's balance sheet total was 3.2 billion euros and equity capital was 292 million euros. The bank, operating in nine countries, has a total of over 177,000 active customers and over 600 employees. Rating agency Moody's has assigned Bigbank a long-term bank deposits rating of Ba1 and a baseline credit rating (BCA) and adjusted BCA rating of Ba2.