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With the number of real estate transactions falling, banks are looking for new customers and borrowers are in a strong position. Here are some tips for negotiating your mortgage rate down.
Borrowers finally see the end of the tunnel. After two years of uninterrupted increases, mortgage rates have started to rise. bearish cycle since the start of 2024. In mid-April, the average rate of loans taken out by households reached 3.84%, according to the CSA Housing Credit Observatory, a drop of around 0.3 points since January. And since good news never comes alone, borrowers are now in a strong position to negotiate the terms of their home loan. The banks, which have reopened the credit tap, are penalized by the wait-and-see attitude of the real estate market – buyers facing both rates still considered prohibitive and overly greedy sellers who are reluctant to lower their prices – and are seeking to attract new customers. This is therefore the ideal time to negotiate your credit rate downward. Here’s how to achieve it.
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Let’s start by clarifying that it is logically the best files that are offered the lowest credit rates. It is therefore essential to “seduce” your bank by presenting yourself with your best profile. Consider cleaning up your accounts several months before going to see your banker, in order to prove to him that you are controlling your expenses. So avoid gambling, large unnecessary expenses, or even ending the month short. Once your file is completed, enter the competition! “This is the best way to lower the cost of credit, banks are looking for customers because financeable households are not rushing around at the momentexplains Cécile Roquelaure, director of studies at the broker Empruntis. It is recommended to contact at least three banks to get the best possible offer.“.
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Also note that the majority of credit institutions now require a substantial contribution to finance a file. Having cash is therefore a prerequisite, but it will not necessarily allow you to negotiate a lower rate. On average, banks ask their customers for a contribution corresponding to the amount of notary fees (7% to 8% in the old ones for example), to which must be added 10% of the price of the property.
Use your savings to negotiate
On the other hand, you can use your residual savings to negotiate your credit rate downward. We are talking here about the difference between the total amount of your savings and your personal contribution. It is thus possible to gain between 5 and 10 basis points (0.05 to 0.10 points) on your credit rate by presenting banks with well-stocked savings accounts, or even more when we are talking about big money. “Banks need savings to finance their other clients, so it is a good negotiating lever to push rates down”adds Cécile Roquelaure.
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Finally, if it is not a negotiation as such, several banking establishments offer “subsidized rate loans”, which can allow you to earn several dozen basis points. Some banks, for example, encourage the purchase of energy-efficient goods with a credit rate reduction that can vary between 10 and 30 basis points (0.10 to 0.30 points). These rate discounts can be allocated based on the energy performance diagnosis (EPD) score of the property and the integration of energy works on the estimate at the time of acquisition. The Postal Bank, for example, launched in 2023 an offer called “impact real estate credit”, which allows its customers to obtain subsidized rates if they plan to undertake energy renovation work.
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