Statistics 31 August 2022 10:00 AM

Drawdowns of new housing loans decline in July from the same month in previous years

Drawdowns of new housing loans in July 2022 totalled EUR 1.4 bn, a decline of 23% on the corresponding month last year. The level of drawdowns was the same as in July 2016 and 2017. Investment property loans accounted for EUR 110 million of the new housing loans, down 29% on July 2021.

The average interest rate on new housing loans was 1.76% in July 2022. The average interest on these loans has increased notably (by a percentage point) since the start of the year. The last time the average interest rate on new housing loans exceeded the July level was in September 2014. The average interest has risen both for owner-occupied housing loans and for investment property loans. In July 2022, the average interest on owner-occupied housing loans was 1.74%. Meanwhile, the average interest on investment property loans was higher, at 1.96%.

At the end of July 2022, the stock of Finnish households’ housing loans stood at EUR 108.3 bn, of which investment property loans accounted for EUR 8.8 bn. The annual growth rate of the housing loan stock (2.8%) has decelerated steadily within a year, and in July 2021, for example, the annual growth rate was 4.4%.

The average maturity of owner-occupied housing loans was 21 years 10 months in July. The average maturity of investment property loans was 18 years 3 months. Investment property loans are typically smaller and have a shorter maturity than owner-occupied housing loans. The share of loans with a maturity of over 25 years in housing loans has increased in recent years. In July, loans with a maturity exceeding 25 years accounted for 42% of drawdowns of new housing loans. The share has increased by 4.7 percentage points from July 2021 and, for example, by 15 percentage points from July 2019.

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Loans

At the end of July 2022, Finnish households’ loan stock comprised EUR 17.1 bn in consumer credit and EUR 18.1 bn in other loans.

Drawdowns of new loans by Finnish non-financial corporations in July totalled EUR 2.1 bn, of which loans to housing corporations amounted to EUR 300 million. The average interest rate on new corporate loan drawdowns rose from June, to 2.32%. At the end of July, the stock of loans granted to Finnish non-financial corporations stood at EUR 103.7 bn, of which loans to housing corporations accounted for EUR 41.1 bn.

Deposits

The total stock of Finnish household deposits at end-July 2022 stood at EUR 114.0 bn, and the average interest rate on the deposits was 0.03%. Overnight deposits accounted for EUR 104.9 bn and deposits with agreed maturity for EUR 2.1 bn of the deposit stock. In July, households made EUR 36 million of new agreements on deposits with an agreed maturity, at an average interest rate of 0.43%.

Loans and deposits to Finland, preliminary data
	May, EUR million	June, EUR million	July, EUR million	July, 12-month change1, %	Average interest rate, %
Loans to households, stock	142,667	143,011	143,502	2,9	1,52
- of which housing loans	107,674	107,907	108,301	2,8	1,00
- of which buy-to-let mortgages	8,789	8,797	8,803		1,10
Loans to non-financial corporations², stock	100,817	102,919	103,734	8,5	1,36
Deposits by households, stock	112,153	113,036	113,966	5,1	0,03

Households' new drawdowns of housing loans	1,900	1,927	1,370		1,76
- of which buy-to-let mortgages	143	139	110		1,96

* Includes loans and deposits in all currencies to residents in Finland. The statistical releases of the Bank of Finland up to January 2021, as well as those of the ECB, present loans and deposits in euro to euro area residents and also include non-profit institutions serving households. For these reasons, the figures in this table differ from those in the aforementioned releases.
1 Rate of change has been calculated from monthly differences in levels adjusted for classification and other revaluation changes.
2 Non-financial corporations also include housing corporations.