The bottom line is that Oberbank Chairman Franz Gasselsberger also sees a relaxation in private residential construction. “We have reached the bottom,” he explained, adding that demand for home loans increased by a fifth in the first quarter of 2024 alone. As the year progresses, the government's planned construction package should provide further momentum.
“We have noticed that young people have become accustomed to high interest rates,” Gasselsberger said about the evolution of demand for home loans. A higher wage level following higher KV agreements, lower real estate prices, the expectation of lower key interest rates, and easing of bureaucratic hurdles in exclusion quotas for housing loans should further brighten the public mood, according to the bank president.
He also sees positive motivations in the construction package recently approved by the government; Overall, it should help stimulate housing construction again. Above all, the speed of implementation of the announced measures was “surprisingly positive.” Gasselsberger is not concerned that cheap state loans included in the construction package could compete with banks.
However, he generally evaluates the work of the current government more critically. “We have not seen many reforms in the past few years,” the bank president said. He does not expect much new in the coming months; Rather, the parties will conduct a primary campaign, which should flow smoothly with the election campaign.
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