Fewer new mortgage loans
Banks in the Netherlands grant fewer new mortgages to households. For some time now, not only has demand for new mortgages among households declined, but the credit standards for new bank loans have been tightened as well. According to the banks, both the reduced demand and the tightened credit standards are the result of the general economic development and the situation in the housing market. The lagging growth in mortgage lending has been going on for a considerable period now, although the growth rate is still positive. In 2009, growth of new mortgages dwindled, subsequently stabilising in 2010 and the first half of 2011. But just over a year ago growth retardation continued again. In September, the growth of mortgage lending reached the lowest level since the start of the statistic. In that month, banks had 1.8 per cent more mortgage loans outstanding than a year earlier. In the past three months, banks' mortgage portfolios grew by net EUR 10 billion (Chart 1). In the first half of 2008, twelve-month growth was still EUR 30 billion.
