In the first half of this year, housing loans were most often taken out by clients aged 30 to 39, while the number of contracts concluded with young people increased by 80%. What industries do they work in and can you hope for a mortgage loan with a salary of 1,000 euros per month? This was reported by Citadele Bank. "Comparing the data for the first half of 2024 and 2023, we see that young people's interest in housing has almost doubled this year – this year, almost every fifth or 18% of mortgage lending contracts were concluded with young people aged 20-29," says Jānis Mūrnieks, Head of the Private Client Services Department at Citadele Bank. According to the bank, the youngest mortgage borrowers are aged 20 to 22. "Co-borrowers always participate in such transactions, usually one of the parents. Most often, it is the parents who help the borrower with the down payment. These young people do not have much work experience, and most of them work in customer service, marketing, or in state and municipal institutions, receiving an average salary of 1,000 euros," says a bank representative. Young people aged 22-24 most often take out loans without the participation of co-borrowers, pay the down payment themselves, or use the Altum housing support program for young professionals, which allows people under 35 with secondary vocational or higher education to purchase housing with significantly less participation or down payment – only 5% of the cost of housing. According to the bank, clients under 24 most often work in the IT sector, these are future lawyers, technical school graduates (electricians, welders), and professional athletes. On average, they receive 1,400 – 2,200 euros, and their work experience does not exceed two years. The majority or 70% of transactions with young people involve serial housing. Moreover, a very common trend is for a young person to buy housing in the same area where he lived with his parents, or nearby. An apartment as an investment is a rather rare case; most often, real estate is bought as a first home. With age, housing requirements often change – more space is needed, you want to live closer to work, etc. In such cases, many prefer not to sell their first apartment, but to rent it out. This is especially true among those over 30 years old.
