Lithuanians take out bigger housing loans

According to Jūratė Gumuliauskienė, director of Private Customer Financing Department at Swedbank, last year the average housing loan grew due to growing economy, improving expectations and a slight increase of real estate prices.

In 2014, Swedbank signed by 11 percent more housing loan agreements compared to 2013, whereas the total housing loan portfolio stood at over EUR 1.68 billion.

The number of people who took out loans to buy a house increased from 18 percent in 2013 to 22 percent in 2014. However, most borrowers (59 percent) applied for loans to buy flats. Moreover, five percent borrowed to build a house, four percent to finish building a house, while two percent to purchase land plots.

The number of early housing loan repayments has also increased. In the first half of 2014 early repayments accounted for EUR 31 million, by EUR 3 million more year-on-year. Growing early repayments, according to Swedbank, is also an indicator of the improving financial situation in Lithuania.

Last year, much like in 2013, residents of Lithuania on average borrowed 74 percent of the cost of housing. They used 28 percent of the monthly income to repay the loan.

The average borrowers for housing are 35-year-old city residents, who have families, higher education and whose income exceeds the average income in Lithuania.

75 percent of housing loan agreements were signed in the five largest cities of Lithuania. Of those, 34 percent were concluded in Vilnius, 16 percent in Klaipėda, 13 percent in Kaunas, 7 percent in Šiauliai and 5 percentt in Panevėžys.