Romanian mortgage market not affected by international crisis
26 June 2008
The international financial crisis has not led to overheating of the domestic mortgage credit market, Sergiu Oprescu, president of Alpha Bank Romania, said.
''If it weren’t for this crisis, the banks, in their pursuit of market share, would have surpassed the normal levels of crediting in the next year or in the next year and a half. We probably would have had 100% of investment covered from mortgage credits'' Oprescu said in a seminar on real estate financing.
Prices on the real estate market are expected to stabilize, said Oprescu. ''A slowdown in demand was registered early this year, actually, it was a postponement of the decision to open a credit for buying a house. A growth in demand has been noticed in the last two months, something that could mark a time period in which the potential clients regain confidence. The hikes are not at last year’s levels, but we witness a more educated and qualified demand'' Oprescu added.
The value of mortgage credits reached EUR 8.3 billion in the first half of the year, according to Alpha Bank data.
The subprime mortgages crisis in the U.S followed the international financial crisis that started in August 2007. Many lenders in the U.S. and Europe posted massive decreases in assets due to the crisis.