The net decrease in demand «was mainly driven by the general level of interest rates, lower consumer confidence
and deteriorating housing market prospects», stated the survey. The figures «painted a pretty dire picture for» the housing sector, said Fabio Balboni, an economist at HSBC, adding that the recent tightening of ECB monetary policy «is starting to feed quickly through to the credit channel and, in turn, take its toll on the economy». The ECB increased its deposit rate to 2 per cent in December from -0.5 per cent last June, representing the largest and fastest increase in rates in the monetary union’s history. The latest official figures from Eurostat showed that third-quarter house prices fell in six eurozone countries including Germany, Denmark, Italy and Sweden on the previous three months.Oxford Economics forecasts that house prices will fall by more than 5 per cent in 2023 in many countries, including Germany and the Netherlands. Across the eurozone, house prices are expected to contract by 2.4 per cent, the consultancy added.

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