Those who want to buy a house and a car are focused on the Central Bank's meeting.

While the balances of housing and vehicle loans are expected to finish 2024 with double-digit real declines, the banking sector paints an optimistic picture for 2025. Currently, housing loan interest rates, which are at the lowest level of 2.79%, are predicted to drop below 2.5% after the Central Bank's Monetary Policy Committee meeting in January.

VEHICLE AND HOUSING LOAN USAGE HAS DECREASED

People looking to buy homes and cars have refrained from using loans due to tight monetary policy, high interest rates, and credit limits. According to the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BRSA) data, while housing loans increased nominally by 17.3% in the last year, vehicle loans decreased by 21.85%. When adjusted for inflation, the real decline in housing loans was 18.8%, and the decline in vehicle loans was 45.9%. Although housing sales picked up in the last two months of the year, this situation has not yet reflected in loan usage.

HIGH INTEREST RATES AFFECTED LOAN USAGE DEMANDS

According to the BRSA's weekly data, the housing loan balance in the first week of 2025 was 513 billion 527.4 million TL. In the same week last year, this figure was 437 billion 883.3 million TL. However, the real decline in the housing loan balance reached 18.77%. According to the Turkish Statistical Institute data, the sales of mortgaged homes decreased by 21.3% compared to 2023. The share of mortgaged sales in total housing sales dropped to 14.5%. This rate was recorded as 38.2% in 2020.

ALL EYES ON THE JANUARY 23 MEETING

The main reason for the slowdown in housing loans is high interest rates. Currently, the lowest interest rate is applied as a green home loan at 2.79% per month. Interest rates for energy-efficient homes are kept lower. General housing loan interest rates can go up to 4.5%. Banking sector sources indicate that if the expected interest rate cut occurs at the Central Bank's meeting on January 23, housing loan interest rates could drop below 2.5%. However, it is stated that this decline alone may not be sufficient to increase loan usage.