Overview
- Central bank data show mortgage balances grew only 0.7% in April, and Empiria estimates disbursements at US$122 million, well below the same month in 2025.
- Banks have trimmed nominal rates in recent months, with ICBC at 6.9%, BBVA at 7.5% and Macro at 8.5%, yet new lending remains subdued.
- Banco Nación offers the most accessible headline rate at a 6% TNA and still issues the bulk of new loans, while BBVA has emerged as a distant second with about 15% of April originations.
- Qualifying remains tough as banks require sizable down payments and high verified income, such as about 2.74 million pesos for a 90 million‑peso loan or roughly 5.15 million pesos for a 200 million‑peso Banco Nación case.
- UVA mortgages tie principal to inflation, and borrowers can ask to extend the term by up to 25% when prices outpace wages by more than 10%, while a near‑record UVA‑to‑dollar ratio has led some economists to say the loans look more attractive if the exchange rate later rises faster than inflation.