Mortgage Movement in Spain: Loans Decrease by 2% in February Compared to 2022

The data of the Statistics National Institute on the movement of mortgages in Spain have revealed that the number of loans down 2% in February compared to the same month of 2022, until adding 35,900 loans.

After the abrupt drop in 8,8% in December after 21 months of consecutive year-on-year increases, in January the number of mortgages rose 2.9% until it fell again in February.

The data of the INE they specify that the average amount of mortgages it rose 1.2% compared to February 2022, with a total volume of 143,413 euros; while the capital lent decreased by 0.9%, which translates into 5,148.5 million euros.

Experts warn: this is what will happen to mortgages

For the director of Fotocasa Studios, Maria Matosthese data indicate that there is a “slight slowdown” of those interested in mortgages for “avoiding the tightening of loans.”

With the Euribor at 3.53% in February, the negotiation between banks and buyers “became more and more complicated,” he revealed to Servimedia.

However, despite the 2.1% decrease, he considered that exceeding 35,000 signatures “returns us fully to normality with pre-pandemic levels.”

The 35,000 mortgages signed in February “return us fully to normality with pre-pandemic levels,” said a Fotocasa expert

The general director of Idealista mortgages also reduced the alert Juan Villen who considered that this record “does not yet reflect the sharp falls that other leading indicators already anticipate”, and that the decrease also indicates that many credit holders changed entities in search of better conditions.

The growth of mixed mortgages

Although fixed mortgages remain the favourites, mixed mortgages are growing more and more, “and it cannot be ruled out that in the near future they will achieve a overtaking that turns them into the most demanded product”, affirmed Villén.

For the director of studies of Pisos.com, Ferran Fontin 2023 “a more moderate scenario” will be considered in interest rates, despite the galloping rise last year.

The average interest rate at the beginning of the mortgage “continues to grow” and stands at 2.86%, “so you have to go back to May 2017 to find a higher value,” he said.

But that does not mean that the coming months will be an oasis: “we will see how the increase in mortgage prices and the uncertainty generated by political and legislative changes will be the reality for a good part of the year,” he warned.