BERLIN (dpa-AFX) - The financial services provider Hypoport expects a further recovery following the slump in real estate lending business. The recent fall in interest rates, slightly lower property prices and rising rents should motivate more families to buy their own homes, said CEO Ronald Slabke on Monday when presenting key figures for the fourth quarter. This trend is expected to continue in 2024. Most recently, Hypoport's Europace platform brokered a larger total amount of building loans, installment loans and home loan and savings contracts than in the same period last year for the first time since the start of the crisis. Hypoport's beleaguered shares rose following the news.

The shares gained a good eight percent to EUR 179.70 in the morning, making them one of the top performers in the small-cap index SDax. At the same time, it more than made up for the losses it had suffered since the turn of the year. However, the share is a long way off the record prices from the time of the coronavirus crisis: almost three years ago in February 2021, investors paid up to EUR 618 for the share. The share price is now back at a similar level to before the pandemic in 2019.

However, Slabke sees reason for confidence - and backs this up with the latest business figures. The Europace real estate platform achieved a brokered volume of 15.48 billion euros in the fourth quarter, up 0.4% on the previous year. Building loans even increased by 7.7 percent to 12.71 billion euros. In particular, business with savings banks and cooperative banks grew strongly. However, demand for home loan and savings contracts fell by almost 40 percent.

For years, low interest rates had driven Hypoport's business with real estate loans. When interest rates rose significantly, demand picked up again briefly. But then things went downhill. The Management Board had to abandon its previously optimistic business targets for both 2022 and 2023. Since the fall, the management has been expecting a decline in sales of up to 25% for 2023.

In the first nine months, Hypoport even posted a loss before interest and taxes (EBIT) of around three million euros. Nevertheless, the Management Board has forecast an operating profit of between €10 million and €15 million for the year as a whole thanks to positive non-recurring items. Hypoport plans to publish its full preliminary results on March 11./stw/men/mis