Growth in both home loan outstandings and new home loan production despite the crisis

2019 was a record-breaking year for real estate in terms of transactions in existing properties, annual growth in home loan outstandings, new loan volumes and rental investments, along with interest rates remaining at their lowest levels. Although the market’s performance last year wouldn’t win gold medals in all these areas, 2020 will still be remembered as a surprisingly good year in an atypical context that left many observers fearing the worst.

With 5.5% annual growth in loan outstandings and new loan production of €274 billion, up 3% year-on-year, the home loans segment enjoyed a dynamic year in 2020, just like the residential real estate market where the number of transactions in existing properties remained above the one million mark. And this performance was achieved in spite of the crisis!
 
The value of new home loans (excluding loan renegotiations) equivalent in 2020 to loans granted in 2019, also remained at record levels at €209 billion. The year was marked, however, by unprecedented volatility, with a sharp decline in the second quarter followed by a strong recovery in the second half of the year. 2020 will therefore be remembered as a surprisingly good year in an atypical context that left many observers fearing the worst.

To learn more about this research carried out by Groupe BPCE’s economists – a review of the home loan market in 2020 and a discussion of the outlook for this sector in 2021 – please click here: