Households were very active in the lending market in March as the housing loan portfolio of the banks grew to be more than 10% larger than a year earlier and a quarter more housing loans were issued than a year before. This was supported by increased activity in transactions and by loans being used to finance a larger share of purchases of housing than before. The market for car leases also recovered further, though the number of vehicles leased remained lower than before the vehicle tax was introduced.

March was a very active month in the housing loan market and the housing loan portfolio of the banks grew by more than 10% over the year. The banks issued a total of 231 million euros in housing loans in March, which was a quarter more than in the same month of last year. The number of loans issued was similar to the number issued in March 2022, which was also a very active month for lending. Transaction activity in the real estate market increased in March, and at the same time, real estate transactions were financed more with loans than they were previously. Housing loans usually cover 40% of the value of transactions in the housing market, but this share exceeded 60% in the first quarter of this year. The banks have the capacity to issue housing loans, and the interest margin on the average housing loan in March was the smallest of the past decade at 1.4%.

Households leased 27 million euros of cars in March, which is about the same amount as before the vehicle tax started to affect the market for leases. The lease market has evidently expanded over the past year, but the number of cars leased was still lower than before the vehicle tax was introduced. An average of 1500 cars were leased each month in 2019–2023, but the number of lease contracts issued to households in March this year was around 1300. The number of lease contracts signed for used cars in the lease market has outstripped the number for new cars for several years by now.

Eesti Pank published a statistical release on banks and lease companies in March today.

Additional information:
Hanna Jürgenson
Communications officer
Eesti Pank
Tel 5692 0930
Press enquiries: [email protected]