The home loans increased for the fourth year in a row in 2023. Bank of Albania data show that the new home purchase loans reached a new historical record of Lek 48.5 billion, or about Euro 466 million. New housing loans increased by 5.2% compared to 2022.

The value of the active portfolio or home loan surplus at the end of 2023 reached almost Lek 177.2 billion, with annual growth of 6.3%. The weight of the home loan to the total loan granted in the country has increased rapidly, from 19% at the end of 2015 to 26% at the end of 2023.

Growth rates have slowed compared to 2022, but this is partly due to the effect of the exchange rate and the devaluation of the Euro against the Lek.

The relatively low interest rates have caused the home loan to increase, especially in the local currency. The new home loan in Lek last year reached 30.2 billion Lek, an increase of 36% compared to the previous year.

Local currency credit accounted for more than 62% of new disbursements for this product.

During 2023, the Bank of Albania slowed down the process of monetary normalization and at the end of the year, the base rate in Lek was at the level of 3.25%, while in Euro it reached 4.5%.