The mortgage firm rebounded in February after a year of declines. In total, 37,232 housing mortgages were registered in the property registries, according to data presented this Wednesday by the INE. It is 3.8% more than the same month of the previous year, the end of a streak of twelve consecutive months of year-on-year declines. The data coincides with the increase in sales, also after a year in which financing has become more expensive for families.
On average, Spaniards requested a mortgage of 136,145 euros, 5.2% less than last year. The average interest is 3.33%, five tenths more than in the same month of 2023 but less than the 3.46% in January. The increase in the Euribor has been setting the pace over the last year, with gradual increases in the average rate. Today the reference is around 3.7%, a level at which it has been installed since March.
The European Central Bank (ECB) is expected to lower rates in June, which could provide relief for mortgage holders. “Probably the year will be differentiated between two marked stages, the one before interest rates fall and the one after", with an improvement in conditions and access, comments María Matos, Director of Studies at Fotocasa.
The majority of loans are at a fixed rate, 55%, but variables have gained a lot of weight in recent months. They jump from 34% last year to 44.7% this February. It must be taken into account, in any case, that mixed mortgages are also included here.
By autonomies, the rise of 78% in the Canary Islands stands out, with 1,975 operations, followed by 65% in Navarra, with 706. In the case of Madrid, mortgages increased 10.6%, to 6,883, the one with the most. Catalonia (-2.7%, 6,388), Andalusia (-16%, 5,876) and the Valencian Community (-0.8%, 4,094) are still in negative territory.
The sector expects that the trend of growth in mortgage signing will strengthen in the coming months. “It is very possible that this trend will continue in the coming months, but the shortage of housing supply could slow down this recovery,” explains Juan Villén, general director of mortgages at Idealista.
On behalf of the real estate company Clikalia, its mortgage manager, Javier Torres, affirms that the February data “is beginning to undoubtedly reflect the recovery of mortgage activity after last year's fall” and “a stagnation in the dizzying increase of interest rates that were experienced during 2023.”
