In December, Mintos reports that it continued its strong performance, with investments in Notes reaching €113.7 million.
According to Peteris Mikelsons, Head of Partnerships at Mintos, “this marks the second-best month in 2023, following the peak in November.”
However, the supply of new loans “failed to meet the surging demand, resulting in a substantial decrease in available Notes for euro-denominated investments, which ended the month at €53 million.”
This supply-demand imbalance had “a direct impact on interest rates, which settled at 11.5% for EUR-denominated investments in December.”
Simultaneously, Mintos says its platform’s Fractional bonds offering has now “gained significant traction, with an additional €2.5 million in investments during the month.”
Additionally, Mintos reveals that it expanded their offerings “by introducing Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs), with a total of €1.9 million invested since its inception in December.”
As they continue to diversify their offerings, Ieva Langenfelde, Senior Product Owner, remarks that “the first iteration of Mintos Core ETF was unveiled just ahead of the festive season.” They’re now actively “engaging with their users to gather valuable feedback, which will be instrumental in shaping and prioritizing enhancements for future versions.”
Mintos has also commented extensively on other developments, including the real estate industry.
Mintos noted in a blog post that the European commercial real estate investment landscape faced “a notable downturn in the first quarter of the year, hitting its lowest point in 11 years.”
This decline was mainly “attributed to higher interest rates and a cautious economic outlook, leading to a reluctance among investors to pursue acquisitions.”
This downturn was most evident in “the office sector, a traditionally vital component of European real estate, which saw a record low in sales.”
In Germany, the residential property market “underwent a considerable shift. Property prices witnessed a decline of more than 5% in 2023, with projections indicating a stagnation for 2024. This marked the most significant property crisis in Germany in recent decades, a situation exacerbated by rising interest rates and broader economic challenges.”
Despite the fall in property prices, rental costs continued to escalate.
This divergence created “a unique situation where housing affordability became an increasing concern, as more potential buyers, anticipating a further drop in house prices, turned to renting. This shift added pressure to the rental market.”
These developments in the European real estate market “signal a time of recalibration, driven by factors such as fluctuating interest rates, the overall economic outlook, and the emerging challenges in housing affordability.”
The commercial sector, in particular, “saw a slowdown in investment activity.”
Meanwhile, the residential market in Germany highlighted “a complex situation where declining property values contrasted with rising rents, underscoring the multifaceted nature of the housing affordability issue.”