Bank margins have largely developed stably over the past quarter. The margin for the standard case is unchanged from the previous survey at 266 basis points. Since in practice virtually no loans are given today with 65 per cent loan-to-value, the standard case has become a little hypothetical.

If we instead assume 50 per cent LTV and a three-year tenor for loans, the estimated bank margin is 213 bps. This represents a reduction of two bps since the previous survey, and is substantially lower than the standard case.

After the inflation figures for January came as an upside surprise, the five-year swap rate has risen by about 30 bps but is still lower for five-year loans than in the fourth quarter. This means that the overall financing rate for new five-year loans with full fixed interest rates for the whole tenor has fallen below six per cent. In practice, LTV is lower and tenors are shorter for virtually all loans. This means that most players in reality are paying 5.25-5.50 per cent in today’s market.