Variable-rate mortgages are beginning to gain ground. In 2022, according to data from the National Institute of Statistics, around 70% of those who financed the purchase of a home chose to get a fixed-rate mortgage; probably for fear of a rise in the Euribor (which ended up taking place). However, in the last months of last year, around 35% of the loans registered for this purpose had a variable interest rate, which seems to indicate a change in trend.
And why did the variable mortgage firm increase if the Euribor was rising? According to the financial comparator HelpMyCash, there are two reasons for this increase. The first is that banks made their fixed rates significantly more expensive during the second half of 2022; a strategy that they are also following this year. And the second is that the entities also lowered their differentials, which is the part that is added to the Euribor to calculate variable interest.
So far in 2023, several banks have continued to lower their spreads, so it is now possible to find variable mortgages with interest rates of around Euribor plus 0.50% or even below. Of course, before contracting a product of this type, it is convenient to take into account the risk that it entails, because if the Euribor remains high or continues to rise in the coming years, the fees to pay will be high.
