Mortgage sales and number of mortgages closed fall in the first quarter of 2022
Utrecht, May 19, 2022 - In the first quarter of 2022, mortgage sales fall to €39.7 billion. This is a slight decline of 0.3% compared to the same quarter in 2021. The total number of mortgages issued fell a lot more sharply by -8.5%, reaching 118 thousand. The average mortgage amount increased again, going up by 2.0% compared to the previous quarter.
Strong decline in purchase market
The decrease in mortgage sales is caused by a sharp decline in the number of mortgages taken out in the purchase market, where mortgages of transferrers fell by -23.6% and first-time buyers even by -37.4% compared to the first quarter in 2021. On the other hand, mortgages for refinancing showed a sharp increase of 55.5% over the same period.
"The increase in refinancing is due to the fact that many who opt to refinance are still trying to close their mortgages now that mortgage rates are soaring," says Joppe Smit of consultancy and technology firm IG&H. "The sharp decline in the purchase market is a sign that mortgage lenders will have to take account of a significantly lower market volume than has been built up in recent years."
Rise in average mortgage loan size continues
Despite the decline in mortgage sales and the number of mortgages taken out compared to the previous quarter, the average mortgage loan size rises by 2.0% in the first quarter of 2022. "The average mortgage loan size continues to rise among all target groups, due to climbing house prices and a tight housing market," says Joppe Smit. The average mortgage sum rose the most among first-time buyers, namely by 6.4% compared to the previous quarter.
Trends in the Top Ten: Aegon rises, Rabobank group with 3 labels in top 5 decliners
Aegon is the strongest climber in market share in the first quarter (+1.3 percentage points), which is a big turnaround compared to the fourth quarter of 2021 when Aegon still experienced a decline of - 0.8 percentage points. Remarkably, three labels of the Rabobank group are among the top 5 whose position fell, namely Vista (-0.9 percentage points), Rabobank (-0.7 percentage points) and Obvion (-0.5 percentage points). Munt Hypotheken makes the biggest upward jump within the top 10 lenders (from 10 to 8), where the top 4 are otherwise unchanged.
We wish you pleasant reading and wholeheartedly invite you to respond!
Yours sincerely,
Joppe Smit Director at IG&H E: joppe.smit@igh.com T: 06 2035 2438
Authors & data analysis of the IG&H Mortgage Update:
Annelies van Putten-Stemfoort
E: annelies.vanputten@igh.com
Joren de Bont
E: joren.debont@igh.com
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