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INE: Mortgage Signings Gained Momentum In 2015

26 February 2016 – Cinco Días

The bank’s commitment to the recovery of the mortgage market, following the period of crisis during which time financial entities almost hermetically sealed the credit tap, is reaping its rewards. The signing of new mortgages increased in 2015, for the second year in a row and the rise was significant. In 2014, the downward trend that had lasted for seven years was broken and the number of home loans signed increased by 2.3%; in 2015, that recovery gained momentum, with the growth in new mortgages amounting to 19.8%.

The mortgage war unleashed by the banks undoubtedly contributed to that recovery. The banks have been making their loans increasingly cheaper and the spreads above Euribor now amount to around 1%, when three years ago they rarely fell below 3%.

Fernando Encinar, Head of Research at Idealista, says that we have now seen the second consecutive year of recovery in the mortgage market, “where we have witnessed four main trends: an increase in the number of operations signed, an increase in the average amount granted, a decrease in interest rates – partly due to the decline in Euribor, but also due to pressure on the spreads, thanks to greater competition between banks – and an increase in the number of fixed rate mortgages being signed, although variable rate products still account for the majority of new mortgages. We expect these four trends to continue in the market in 2016, and whereby contribute to the normalisation of the real estate sector. “

According to the provisional data published today by the National Institute of Statistics (INE), the value of these mortgages amounted to €25,934.7 million, up by 24.1% compared with a year earlier. The average value of mortgages granted for homes rose by 3.6% in 2015, to €105,931.

In December 2015 alone, 19,362 new mortgage contracts were granted for the acquisition of homes, up by 21.1% compared with the same month in 2014, for an average amount of €107,880, up by 2.5% compared with December 2014.

By autonomous region, Andalucía (45,971), Madrid (42,382) and Cataluña (38,583) accounted for the highest volume of mortgages granted for homes.

The number of mortgages signed increased in every autonomous region last year. The greatest increases were observed in the Balearic Islands (+41.4%), Cataluña (+25.9%) and Cantabria (+24.9%).

Original story: Cinco Días

Translation: Carmel Drake