Notwithstanding growing political uncertainty, housing and mortgage markets in Europe continued their resilient path at the end of 2016
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EMF Publishes Quarterly Review – Q4 2016
“Notwithstanding growing political uncertainty, housing and mortgage markets in Europe continued their resilient path at the end of 2016.”
Brussels, 25 April 2017 – For immediate release
The European Mortgage Federation (EMF) has today published its Quarterly Review of European Mortgage Markets for the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2016.
Produced in cooperation with the Federation’s national experts, the Quarterly Review presents the latest short-term developments in mortgage and housing markets across the EU. The publication provides expert analytical commentary together with data tables and charts on the following key indicators:
§ Mortgage interest rates;
§ Total outstanding residential mortgage lending;
§ Gross and net residential mortgage lending; and
§ Nominal house price indices.
Overview of Q4 2016:
“After the British decision to leave the EU, the election of Mr Trump as the 45th President of the United States was a further element of an unpredictable 2016. Nevertheless, the housing and mortgage market in the (for the time being) EU28 shows a remarkable resilience, fostered by an ongoing expansive monetary policy, together with a macro-economic upswing and a general widespread improvement of the economic conditions. In 2016, for the first time since 2007, all EU Member States depicted a positive GDP growth. Moreover, notwithstanding the growth of the construction industry in several countries, the well-known excessive demand for housing, especially in the most thriving regions of the European continent, pushed up house prices. Interest rates continued to generally decrease and the unweighted average interest rate of our sample dropped by 22 bps year-on-year, for the first time below 2.4%.”
Luca Bertalot, EMF-ECBC Secretary General
The full Quarterly Review – Q4 2016 and the archive of previous editions (back to Q3 1998) are available on the EMF website here.
Contact:
Daniele Westig
Economic Adviser
Tel: +32 2 285 40 40
Notes to the Editor:
1. Established in 1967, the European Mortgage Federation (EMF) is the voice of the European mortgage industry, representing the interests of mortgage lenders and covered bond issuers at European level. The EMF provides data and information on European mortgage markets, which were worth over 7 trillion EUR at the end of 2015. As of April 2017, the EMF has 17 members across 14 EU Member States as well as a number of observer members.
2. In 2004 the EMF founded the European Covered Bond Council (ECBC), a platform bringing together covered bond issuers, analysts, investment bankers, rating agencies and a wide range of interested stakeholders. As of April 2017, the ECBC has over 110 members across over 30 active covered bond jurisdictions and many different market segments. ECBC members represent over 95% of covered bonds outstanding, which were worth nearly 2.5 trillion EUR at the end of 2015.
3. In June 2014, the EMF and the ECBC came together to form the Covered Bond & Mortgage Council (CBMC), which replaced the European Mortgage Federation as the legal name under which both entities operate, although in practice, both the EMF and ECBC brands are maintained and used to identify the two areas of focus within the CBMC’s scope.
4. The Covered Bond Label Foundation (CBLF) was established in 2012 by the EMF-ECBC. The Covered Bond Label website became fully operational on the 1st of January 2013, with the first Labels being effective since then. The website features the Harmonised Transparency Template (HTT) and 14 National Transparency Templates, published by 88 issuers disclosing information on 104 labelled cover pools across 16 jurisdictions. The Covered Bond Label website currently provides issuance data on over 4,400 covered bonds, amounting to a total face value of over 1.5 trillion EUR, out of which over 2,400 covered bonds already include information on the Liquidity Coverage Requirement (LCR).
5. For the latest updates from the EMF-ECBC, follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube or visit the EMF-ECBC blog.