Italian: Hypothecary loans in Italy: number of mortgaged properties decreases, amount of financing increases

The tax office has published a report on 2023 mortgages prepared by Omi

The report contains statistics on the number of mortgages registered and the financing in 2022. Last year, about 443 thousand mortgage deeds were registered for almost one million immovable properties, with almost 102 billion euros of debt capital pledged as collateral. The report also shows that of the total financing in 2022, more than 25 billion, which is about 25%, comes from deeds in which the mortgaged immovable properties are located in the eight largest Italian cities.

Debt capital and real estate

According to the Omi report, the debt capital arising from real estate in 2022 is about 102 billion euros, representing 5.3% of Italian GDP. The amount of this capital, which reliably finances the real estate market (usually the purchase of a home financed by a mortgage loan secured against that same home), is about 48 billion euros. About 36 billion euros are earmarked for financing other economic activities: in this case, the potential value of real estate becomes a value entering an active economic cycle. The bulk, about 18 billion euros, is of mixed purpose.

Statistics on mortgage deeds

In 2022, some 443 thousand mortgage deeds were concluded and registered for a total of 975,937 mortgaged properties (-4.0% compared to 2021) and financed with debt capital of €101.6 billion (+0.2% compared to 2021) secured by mortgages.

Distribution of financing by type of real estate

Basically, 68% of the pledged properties are "residential" deeds in which the real estate is residential premises and appurtenances, and in which the financing in 2022 amounts to about 50 billion euro, which is about 49% of the total amount.

Geographical distribution of mortgage facilities and financing

From the analysis of mortgage data by geographic area, it was learned that the concentration in the north is high in both the number of mortgaged properties, representing 60% of the national total, and in financing, representing 57% of the total. In all areas, the number of mortgaged properties is decreasing and debt capital is increasing in 2022 compared to 2021 in the north (+ 11%) and south (+ 5%), but decreasing in the center (-13%).

The North and South are also geographic areas where the largest increase, respectively +28% and +33% compared to 2021, is in debt capital, secured by the value of real estate not returned to the real estate market, but allocated to finance other economic activities. In the center, on the other hand, such capital decreased by about 25%.

Mortgages in large cities

Italy's eight largest cities by population are home to almost 125 thousand mortgages in 2022, corresponding to more than 25 billion euros, about a quarter of the total national level financing, up 4.4% compared to 2021, but only Milan, Bologna and Genoa of the eight cities show positive annual growth.

As noted in previous years and in line with national data, in the larger cities about 50% of the financing using real estate collateral is returned to the real estate market. In Palermo and Naples, the share of capital returned to the real estate market is more than 80% of the total. In Milan, on the other hand, almost half of the debt capital finances other economic activities.