Credit demand for house purchases by Nigerian households rose to 9.6 index points in the second quarter of 2026 (Q2 2026), indicating increased borrowing for personal home ownership.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) disclosed this in its Credit Conditions Survey Report for Q2 2026, which showed an overall increase in credit availability across secured, unsecured and corporate lending during the period.
According to the apex bank, lenders also recorded lower default rates across major credit categories.
The survey showed that overall credit demand increased to 15.1 index points for secured lending and 15.2 index points for corporate lending, while demand for unsecured lending remained subdued at -1.2 index points.
Within the household segment, demand for consumer loans rose to 11.2 index points, while credit for house purchases increased to 9.6 index points. Mortgage and re-mortgage lending also grew to 13.3 index points, while small business lending to households climbed to 26.4 index points.
For unsecured household credit, demand for overdrafts and personal loans increased to 7.9 index points, while demand for credit card lending declined to -2.0 index points.
In the corporate sector, credit demand increased across different business categories, rising to 26.5 index points for small businesses, 25.5 index points for medium-sized private non-financial corporations (PNFCs), and 8.9 index points for large PNFCs.
However, credit demand from Other Financial Corporations (OFCs) remained unchanged at 0.0 index points.
The CBN also reported that commercial lenders recorded a broad decline in default rates across secured and unsecured lending, as well as among corporate borrowers, including small businesses, medium and large PNFCs and OFCs.