Mortgages growing at their fastest rate since August 2008

The number of people in Portugal taking out mortgages rose to its highest level in April since August 2008 according to data released from the Bank of Portugal released on Friday.

“The stock of housing loans increased by 789 million euros compared to March, totaling 105.2 billion euros at the end of April,” said the Bank of Portugal, adding that, compared to the same month last year, “the acceleration trajectory was maintained: growth was 6%, the highest since August 2008”.

In terms of credit stock, the amount lent by banks to buy a house is at the highest level since the beginning of 2014.

Despite the fact that property prices continue to rise, the appetite for mortgage credit remains at high levels, with a significant part of new loans going to young people up to 35 years old, who benefit from the Portuguese government’s public guarantee.

According to the Bank of Portugal’s Financial Stability Report released last week, in the first quarter of the year, the mechanism that allows young people to 35 to get a loan on the entire value of their house represented 9% of the number of contracts and 13% of the total amount of new mortgages.

Other credit segments also showed a positive evolution in April. The amount of consumer and other loans increased by €121 million compared to March, to €30.9Bn. In year-on-year terms, these loans rose 7.1%, up from 7% in March.