Madrid, February 11 (EFECOM).- Spanish banks have started the year with a practically general improvement in mortgage supply, which revives the market and recovers fixed rates below 3%, convinced that the European Central Bank (ECB) ) will lower the price of money in the coming months.
At the end of 2023, the average interest rate at which banks granted mortgages in Spain accumulated two consecutive drops and stood at 4.219% in December, below the euro zone average, according to data from the Spanish Mortgage Association (AHE). ).
This average rate includes both fixed-rate mortgages and mixed and variable mortgages, mainly linked to the evolution of the 12-month Euribor, which at the end of the year stood at 3.679%, below the ECB’s intervention rate, at 4. 5 %.
And in the absence of confirmation in the coming days that the average mortgage rate continued to fall at the start of 2024, it is enough to take a look at the offer of the main financial entities to verify that in recent weeks and, especially at beginning of February, they have improved their prices.
The five big banks made it clear during the presentations of their results that they are strongly betting on the mortgage market, they are willing to lend and they are confident that demand will recover as a possible lowering of interest rates by the ECB comes into view, although We have to wait until summer.
However, if the entities themselves continue to improve their offer and fuel a possible mortgage war, it is more than likely that demand will grow, again for fixed ones, to the detriment of mixed ones, which have gained popularity in recent months, and also for variable ones, which may be interesting in some customer profiles.
Entities such as Sabadell or Santander offer fixed-rate mortgages that reach 2.60% and 2.77%, respectively, subsidized with the contracting of certain products such as home and life insurance, beyond payroll.
In the case of mixed mortgages, depending on the term for which a fixed rate is applied, there may be loans such as that of Ibercaja at 1.75% for 5 years and Euribor plus 0.75 points thereafter and subject to linkage. Very similar to Unicaja’s mixed mortgage, at 1.60% for 5 years and then Euribor plus a subsidized differential up to a maximum of 0.45%.
In parallel with the improvement in the mortgage supply, it is expected that the purchase of cash homes will be reduced, which, with the rise in interest rates, increased significantly to the point that almost 44% of the nearly 630,000 homes Sold in 2023, they were purchased without bank financing.
Even so, experts warn of the diversity of buyers, which at the same time carries a wide catalog of mortgages, from loans for young people, a product designed in most cases for those under 35 years of age, such as mortgages for non-residents, green mortgages, for second homes or investments, self-promotion loans, for renovation, refinancing and even reverse.
The reverse mortgage is one of the least widespread loans among Spanish entities, although Santander has opted for it together with Mapfre. Usually, access to this type of mortgage is reserved for those over 65 years of age. EFECOM
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2024-02-11 10:56:10
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