French mortgage interest rates continued to fall in September

 Mortgage interest rates that French banks offered to individual property buyers continued to fall during September, according to a new study.

Mortgage guarantor Crédit Logement/CSA monitors the French mortgage market. Its latest research shows that mortgage rates in France for existing properties (as opposed to new construction) fell to an average of 2.57% during September. Interest rates stood at an average of 3.08% in December 2013.

The study also notes that the demand for mortgages increased during September. August is traditionally a less active month in that respect.

The vast majority of these loans (97.4%) were at fixed interest rates. The continuing decrease in rates since January 2014 has made these types of loan more attractive to borrowers than variable interest rate mortgages.

The report asserts that the fall in interest rates to historically low levels has done more to stimulate the property market than other incentives, such as temporary abatements of capital gains tax on property sales.

It also notes that property prices in France overall have risen steadily throughout 2014. At the end of September, they had risen by 0.8% since the previous September.

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