Nigerians surge into homeownership loans as default rates drop

More Nigerian households are turning to loans to finance home purchases, driving a broader uptick in credit demand during the second quarter of 2026 (Q2 2026).

According to the latest Credit Conditions Survey Report released by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), credit demand for household home purchases rose to 9.6 index points, highlighting a significant growth in personal property acquisition through borrowing.

The apex bank noted that commercial lenders reported improved credit availability across secured, unsecured, and corporate lending segments throughout the period. Concurrently, financial institutions recorded a notable decline in default rates across all credit categories.

Data from the report shows that demand for secured lending climbed to 15.1 index points, while corporate credit demand reached 15.2 index points. In contrast, unsecured credit demand remained sluggish at -1.2 index points.

A breakdown of household borrowing reveals widespread expansion: Small business loans: Surged to 26.4 index points; mortgage and re-mortgage refinancing: Advanced to 13.3 index points. General consumer loans: Rose to 11.2 index points; overdrafts and personal loans: increased to 7.9 index points; credit cards: Contracted to -2.0 index points.

In the corporate sector, credit growth was primarily led by smaller entities. Credit to small businesses and Medium Private Non-Financial Corporations (PNFCs) grew significantly to 26.5 and 25.5 index points, respectively, while Large PNFCs experienced a moderate rise to 8.9 index points. Credit extended to Other Financial Corporations (OFCs) remained flat at 0.0 index points.

Despite the increase in borrowing activity, lenders highlighted a encouraging improvement in loan performance, reporting lower default rates across secured, unsecured, small business, and corporate portfolios.

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