Consumer Credit in RON in Romania Exceeds 10 Bln Euros

Consumer credits taken out by the Romanian population in RON went up to a level equivalent to 10.3 billion euros, a 36% increase on July last year, according to data from the NBR (National Bank of Romania), Ziarul Financiar reported.While overall there is a slowdown in the credit growth rate, consumer loans taken out by the population in RON jumped significantly in July. In fact, the 3.4% growth rate in July was the most accelerated rate this year, followed by the April rate, of 2.5%.The annualized growth was also above the one calculated in the previous month, but lower than in the first few months of the year. However, all the other categories of credit saw a slowdown. Data points to a slowdown in lending, and a significant slowdown is expected over the next few months.This is primarily due to the base effect, the volume of credits granted by banks is much higher than last year. From a 56% credit growth rate, I expect we will reach 40% by the end of the year, said Ionut Dumitru, head of Raiffeisen Bank's research department.Source: Profit.bg

Credit costs tame Bulgarian housing market

After the banner 2007 when transactions involving residential property rose 4-5% and prices jumped by about 30%, the Bulgarian market in 2008 is calmer and more balanced as the cost of borrowing increases, said Teodora Dimitrova, managing partner at the Era real estate agency. The softening of the market is also evident from the growth forecasts for 2008. Housing prices are expected to continue on the up, adding 15%, a pace twice as slower than last year's. 'Demand and supply on the residential market have reached a parity over the last two months,' said Dimitrova. Data of the Era network of real estate agencies indicates that the busiest residential markets are those in Sofia, Burgas and Varna where construction is also most intensive. Sofia homes start from 670 euro/sq m