Romanian 1Q Mortgage Loans Demand, Half Of Mid-08 Level

The mortgage lending demand is now very low, as the population expects the prices to go further down, Major said.

UniCredit computed an affordability index, as a ratio between the price per square meter and the average gross monthly salary.

Major said an ideal value of the index is at 2, while in Romania the affordability index dropped from 6.5 in 2008 to 3.8 in the first quarter.

He also said that, on longer term, a 15% growth in mortgage lending demand may be considered robust, as well as much healthier.