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CEO Kiwi Finance: the alert rhytm of real estate development will go on, as Romania has not only demand but also consistent need for residences
The biggest broker of loans on the market, Kiwi Finance, reported in the first quarter of 2019 a significant growth of the volume of files credited against the same period of last year, only in october ( a record month in the history of the company) Kiwi Finance initiating real estate loans representing 20% of the total of real estate credits in Romania ( exception Prima Casa) – sent to the banks for approval loans worth 44,5 million euro, out of which 90% real estate loans and 10% personal needs loans. Anca Bidian (photo), CEO Kiwi Finance estimates that only Kiwi Finance sales of 2019 will reach the level of the whole brokerage industry of some years ago.
More exactly, between January and June 2019 the total sales of loans of the company increased by 24%, the value of the average loan being 9% higher than last year. With a rate of approval of 89% reached in October 2019.
According to Anca Bidian, this alert rhythm of real estate development will continue as in Romania it is not only a demand but a consistent need for residences. ‘More than that, the requests do not come only from the Romanians in the country, but from those outside the country: in 2018 the acquisitions of Romanians in the diaspora registered a growth of 30% against the previous year, while this year the growth was already 50%. To mention that 90% of the requests come from the EU, on the part of the people with higher education who left the country 6-8 years ago, they buying mostly in Bucuresti and the western part of the country’.
At present, 67% of the Romanians interested in real estate acquisition are looking for apartment of 2 rooms, while only 33% plan to acquire a house. And this due to the fact that most blocks of flats in Romania are inside the cities, which mean that interest points travel is more rapid. And 3-4 rooms in a block would cost less than a house, without including the costs for maintenance.
Q: Why should I choose a loan broker instead of going on my own?
A: As the loan broker presents comparisons between the existing offers transparently and then you identify the banking product you prefer according to your profile and your needs .. and not viceversa. It is as if you go to the doctor first and not directly to the drugstore to buy what you consider you need. Any loan, be it real estate or personal needs, is a sophisticated product when you want the certainty that you chose the best and you do not pay more and no useless restrictions.’
Q: Why do loan brokers get more credit?
A: According the most recent estimates of the Romanian Association of Loan brokers (ARBC) the total volume of the brokerage market will surpass this year 2 billion lei. Why did the Romanians start to trust the counseling offered by brokers, getting to 2 our 10 real estate loans being made through them? Because, without any supplementary cost for the customers, it avoids supplementary visits to the banks to prepare the file, by proposing them the best financial solutions through a comparative analysis of the banks. And the banks are more than happy to have outsourcing help, by paying the brokers depending on the files approved.Thus starting 2012 the brokerage market has increased constantly, representing a barometer of the positive evolution of economy, in connection to the degree of financial intervention.
Q: Do the Romanians pay their loans?
A: The loan brokerage industry in Romania contributes to almost 18% of the total of real estate loans offered by banks without including the ones offered by PrimA Casa Programme. But, in some countries in Europe ( the UK, the Netherlands, Spain) the share is between 50 and 60% as we do not compare to the US where the retail loan sale was outsourced almost integrally (90%)..Today the banks of Romania offer even more loans for personal needs than the banks in Austria. And this happens as only half of the Romanians stated that they have the money saved, 60% of them having financial duties. And even so, 30% want to access a new loan – as the sociological survey says – ‘ financial habits of the Romanians’ commanded by KRUK Romania, as they are the champions with loan contracts in the EU – we are among the best payers, Romania being the country with the fewest shareholders in the tribunal for nonpayment.