Costa Rica: Credit for Housing Up 10%

Competition, interbank interest rates and a stable exchange rate are the reasons for the growth of the housing loan portfolio in the first quarter of 2016.

Tuesday, May 3, 2016

An article on Elfinancierocr.com reports that "... Housing credit has been growing at safe rate since the start of 2016 and this market is expected to remain this way for the rest of the year ... In the first quarter, the total balance of housing loans in the financial system reached ¢4.7 billion, an increase of 10.9% compared to the same period in 2015. "


"... Customers rely on the stability of interest rates in colones and the supply of fixed-rate long repayment terms."


"... Developers have increased demand for building permits for houses and have also added to their supply of housing models with prices that are below $100,000, thereby opening the door to more families."


The article details the balances of housing loans by financial institution, and the average debt per customer.

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More on this topic

Housing Credit Down 55% In El Salvador

September 2013

Up to June banks had only provided financing for housing projects worth $14.36 million, while in the same period last year it had already reached $32 million.  

"The new housing projects can be counted on the fingers of one hand," said the executive director of the Salvadoran Chamber of Construction Industry (Casalco), Ismael Nolasco, adding that the drop is a reflection of an industry that is not investing in large housing projects because it has seen any demand.

Mortgage Interest Rates in Costa Rica Touch Floor

July 2013

From the 14% recorded last September, interest rates for housing loans in colones are down to 10%, a figure at which the indicator seems to have settled.

Several factors have influenced this behavior:
There have been no significant changes in the passive base rate, which many home loans are linked to.

Panama: Mortgage Lending up 11%

October 2012

The extension to $120,000 of the cap for purchasing housing at preferential rates will cause growth in mortgage lending.

Up to last July, the balance of the mortgages with the Preferential Act increased by $45.6 million, up from $2.558 million to $2.603 million.

According to an article in Capital.com.pa, Peter Detresno, company president of Pedros Real Estate, said that "the impact of increasing the range of prime interest was obvious and the proof was the last Capac Expo Habitat 2012 fair, where about 80% of sales or inquiries were made about housing projects in that range. "

Increased Availability for Home Loans in Costa Rica

March 2011

Despite contraction in the construction sector, banks and other lenders are increasing their offers.

The bank´s credit portfolio is the largest offered over the last three years as reported by the Costa Rican Banking Association.

"In Expoconstrucción, which begins next Sunday at Pedregal (San Antonio de Belén), banks will try to hook new customers with fixed rate programs, remission of fees and payment terms of up to 30 years" informed Nacion.com, “Nine financial institutions will be present at the fair ...".

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