Housing: Price Decreases Slow As Sales Increase

17 April 2015 – Cinco Días

The most prestigious research studies in the country continue to improve their forecasts for expected growth in Spain this year and next; and one of the (key) factors influencing this increase in optimism is, without doubt, the performance of the housing sector. This week was the turn of BBVA Research, whose report not only predicted that the rise in GDP this year could exceed 2.7%, it also forecast “an improvement in the basis for housing investment, which continues to reinforce a change in the cycle, both in terms of supply and demand”.

Moreover, the study concludes that residential investment has increased once again during the first quarter of this year, although these increases have been “moderate and starting from historically low levels”.

The General Council of Notaries and Tinsa also published their own statistics this week. The notaries recorded a total of 26,562 house sales during the month of February, representing a slight decrease of 1.9% compared with the same month last year, although that increases to 2.6% for the seasonality-adjusted figures. Despite reductions in January and February, the notaries argue that the trend over the last few months continues to reflect the stabilisation of sales.

“This decrease may be explained by the end of the base effect following the normalisation of the figures after tax breaks for housing were phased out”, says the report. Also, if we analyse the volume of transactions by type of property, we can see that sales of newly built homes dropped significantly, by 34.4%, whereas sales of used homes (which account for more than 70% of all transactions) increased at a rate of 3.4% p.a.

More mortgages

In terms of prices, INE’s recently published statistics showed that behaviour varies substantially between new and used housing. The average price of house sales in February amounted to €1,192 per square metre, representing a decrease of 3.1% compared with the same month last year. However, whilst the price of second-hand homes barely changed during that period, falling by just 0.1%, the price of new builds experienced an average decrease of 5.8%, compared with twelve months earlier.

Moreover, the notaries calculate that house prices in Spain have decreased by 36.8%, on average, since the start of the crisis, back in 2007.

This figure does not agree exactly with the calculations performed by one of the largest property surveyors in the market, Tinsa, but it is very similar.

According to data published this week by Tinsa (see graph above), which is based on valuations obtained from its network of more than 1,200 surveyors across the country, average house prices experienced a year-on-year decrease of 2.8% in March, compared with a 3.6% drop in the previous month. According to Tinsa’s data, house prices have experienced a cumulative decrease of 41.4% from the peak figures recorded in December 2007.

Overall, the statistics show that the cumulative depreciation in house prices (since 2007) amounts to around 40%, although in areas such as the Mediterranean Coast, the aggregate adjustment amounts to 48.7%.

This fact, which means that in some regions houses today are worth half their pre-crisis values, is what continues to explain that many of the transactions recorded each month are completed without mortgages.

Specifically, in February, only 42.3% of house purchases were financed using a mortgage, which means that more than half were either paid for in cash or were financed using another type of loan that did not require a mortgage guarantee.

The notaries’ statistics also provide information about the average mortgage amount for the purchase of a home, which stood at 75.6% in February. And since more houses are being sold, it is logical to say that the granting of loans for the construction of new developments is also recovering, albeit slowly; the number of loans granted increased by 45.8% in February to take the total number of financed transactions to 335.

Original story: Cinco Días (by Raquel Díaz Guijarro)

Translation: Carmel Drake

ST: House Prices Increased By 3% During Q1 2015

9 April 2015 – Expansión

Nine consecutive months of price rises for the first time since 2007 / According to the appraisal company Sociedad de Tasación, the average price per constructed square metre recovered significantly between January and March.

House prices rose by 3% during the first quarter of 2015, compared with the same period last year, according to data published by Sociedad de Tasación (ST). That made it the third consecutive quarter of house price increases, for the first time since the beginning of 2007, i.e. exactly eight years ago.

And so, the gradual improvement in data from the sector continues, which closed the year 2014 with positive results, leaving behind seven years of deep recession. The number of house sales increased by 2.2% and prices rose by 1.8% (in 2014), according to the National Institute for Statistics (INE).

This year, the price rises have increased to 3%, according to the statement made yesterday by Juan Fernández-Aceytuno, the CEO of the appraisal company, during his speech at the 22nd Meeting of the Financial Sector, organised by ABC and Deloitte. And he added that ST has seen a “double-digit” rise in the number of appraisals requested to support mortgages.

Nevertheless, Fernández-Aceytuno sais that “the data must be analysed with caution”, given “the low (levels) of mortgage lending and the fragility of the labour market”. This long-awaited turnaround may be starting to happen, but caution still prevails in the sector: “We have seen (positive signs) in recent quarters, but we will have to see whether the price curve ends up flattening out; currently, I can not see any signs that point clearly to an increase in demand, rather, (I see) a turning point.

For the housing market to fully recover, there needs to be an increase in demand and in the number of mortgage granted, adds the CEO of ST. In 2014, only 240,000 home loans were granted, well below the “cruising speed” required for a recovery, which experts agree is around 450,000 mortgages (per year). “When we return to the volumes last seen in 2001 and 2002, then we will be able to say that the recovery has begun”, adds Ferndández-Aceytuno.

BBVA’s research service is more optimistic. Its Spanish Real Estate Flash report for April says that (it expects) the sale of homes, construction and the signing of new mortgages to continue to rise, driven by the favourable economic climate.

It is clear that the net downwards trend is coming to an end. Albeit, gradually. In fact, the average appraisal value of homes per square metre has varied over the last seven quarters. “The last three quarters have been very positive, but the quarters prior to that involved fluctuations. As such, this positive data may be temporary”, explains Fernández-Aceytuno.

As well as the volatility and fragility of the sector, the real estate analysts’ reservations stem from real estate statistics from the General Council of Notaries, which shows that the euphoria in the residential market is cooling. The notaries reported a 10% decrease in sales in January. Nevertheless, on the upside, mortgage lending increased by 11.4% (during the same period).

Caution aside, what is certain is that the property market has changed direction. “This is the first time in seven years that we are seeing this data”, says Fernández-Aceytuno. The seven quarters at the start of the turning point in the real estate sector “have coincided with seven quarters of GDP growth”, he adds.

“There is consensus that, with the environment of low (interest) rates in the short term, it is very likely that the financial institutions that own cheap land will start financing the market once again, through property developers, whereby reviving the property market”, explains the CEO of the appraisal company.

Original story: Expansión (by Juanma Lamet)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Notaries: House Sales Decreased By 10.9% In January 2015

17 March 2015 – El Mundo

House sales decreased by 10.9% in January 2015 with respect to January 2014 and prices fell by 6%.

On the up side, the volume of new mortgages increased by 11.4%.

The real estate statistics published by the General Council of Notaries relating to the month of January 2015, have somewhat dampened the euphoria that the housing market has been enjoying in recent weeks. The notaries report a 10% decrease in sales and a 6% year-on-year reduction in prices. Nevertheless, on the up side, the notaries indicate that during the first month of the year, mortgage lending increased by 11.4%.

According to these house purchase figures, there were 21,320 transactions in January, which represented a year-on-year decrease of 10.9%. “Despite this decrease in the monthly figures, the data actually reflects a stabilisation in terms of sales. This decrease may be explained by the end of the ‘base affect’ due to the normalisation of the figures following the conclusion of the period for tax deductions on purchases”, explain the notaries.

By type of property, the sale of flats experienced a year-on-year decrease of 11.5%, similar to the decline observed for unsubsidised flats (-11.4%). This decrease in the volume of transactions was due, primarily, to the significant decline in the sale of new flats (-31.8%). Meanwhile, the sale of second-hand flats shrank by 7.6% year-on-year. Regarding the sale of detached homes (viviendas unifamiliares), the number of transactions decreased by 8.4%.

Price decreases

In terms of average prices, the cost per square metre of homes purchased in January was €1,234, which represented a year-on-year decrease of 6%. This reduction in the price per square metre of homes was driven by both a reduction in the price per square metre of flats (-5.6% year-on-year), as well as a decrease in the price per square metre of detached homes (viviendas unifamiliares) (-6.4%).

In the flat segment, the price per square metre of second-hand properties amounted to €1,347 (-3.2% year-on-year) and of new homes amounted to €1,624 (-12.5% year-on-year). In terms of detached homes (viviendas unifamiliares), the average cost per square metre amounted to €1,001, i.e. 5.4% lower than in January 2014.

Mortgage lending is on the increase

Meanwhile, the number of mortgage loans granted to purchase homes increased by 11.4% year-on-year, and the average amount of capital loaned amounted to €126,989 (up by +9.2% year-on-year). In this sense, the percentage of home purchases financed using a mortgage amounted to 41.5%. Moreover, for this type of purchase, with financing, the mortgage amount represented an average of 76.2% of the appraisal value of the house financed.

Original story: El Mundo

Translation: Carmel Drake

BBVA: Positive Outlook For Housing Market In 2015

3 March 2015 – El Economista

The positive outlook for economic growth, better employment figures and favourable financing conditions will drive further increases in house sales in 2015, which will be accompanied by a “moderate” increase in prices and a further increase in construction activity.

That is according to the latest “Real Estate in Spain – Flash Report”, prepared by the Research Department at BBVA, which also states that “2014 could be classified as the year in which the recovery of the real estate sector began”.

Sales recovery

The entity points out that, according to the General Council of Notaries (Consejo General del Notariado), demand for properties showed signs of recovery month after month during 2014, to close the year with 364,000 homes sold, up 19.1% compared with 2013. “That was the first increase since 2007 and it reflects the greater level of activity in the mortgage market”, says BBVA.

At the same time, data from the Ministry of Development shows that there was a 0.5% increase in house prices last year, again, the first increase since the start of the crisis.

This recovery in the key real estate parameters led to a 1.7% increase in the number of construction permits for new homes in 2014, which the financial institution notes “breaks the trend of seven consecutive years of decreases and makes 2014 the turning point in terms of construction activity”.

The report forecasts that this positive trend will really take hold in 2015. BBVA Research expects the Spanish economy to grow by 2.7% this year, with the creation of around half a million jobs and relatively stable interest rates.

“All of these factors indicate that there will be a further increase in house sales and that prices and construction activity will respond with further growth”, says the bank.

Original story: El Economista

Translation: Carmel Drake

Second-hand Housing Is More Appealing To Buyers

23 February 2015 – El País

62% of the homes purchased in Spain last year were second-hand.

The second-hand segment is winning by a landslide in the race to sell more homes in the Spanish real estate sector. Overall, sales increased in 2014 for the first time in four years – breaking the trend observed since 2010 – and they did so thanks to the used home segment.

62.7% (200,065) of the 318,928 homes sold in 2014 were second-hand and just 37.2% (118,863) were new builds, according to the statistics of the Association of Registrars. According to INE, sales of second-hand homes increased by 18.4%. By contrast, sales of new builds plummeted, falling by 16.9%.

All indicators suggest that second-hand homes will continue to dominate transactions throughout 2015. Thus, the gap between new and used housing will become increasingly larger. Why? The main factor tipping the balance is price; second-home homes are more affordable for the long-suffering buyer. Used homes are between 5% and 15% cheaper, according to Manueal Gandarias, Director of the Research Unit at pisos.com. In euros, “the difference between an average used home and an average new build in Spain amounts to approximately €400 per square metre”, according to calculations by the appraisal firm Tinsa.

Second-hand properties ended the year with an average price of €1,347 per square metre, whereas new builds stood at €1,624/m2, according to data published by the General Council of Notaries. Moreover, second hand properties are available for as little as “just over €1,021. This undoubtedly encourages future buyers”, says Chus de Miguel, Commercial Director at Casaktua.com.

Furthermore, the prices of used homes offer more room for negotiation when they are in private hands, especially for overvalued homes acquired during the bonanza years.

Another point in favour of second-hand properties is that they are taxed at a lower rate. Brand new properties are subject to a 10% VAT charge, whereas Property Transfer Tax (Impuesto de Transmisiones Patrimoniales or ITP) is levied on those that are already inhabited and it varies from 6% to 10%. Moreover, aside from a few exceptions, used homes are located in better areas, since new homes are often scarce in city centres, unless they are refurbished homes. “A high percentage of used homes are located in more established, central areas that have more services”, says Chus de Miguel.

Although new builds have a very important advantage: “the greater ease of financing offered by the developers and banks that own these homes”, says Jesús Duque, Vice President of Alfa Inmobiliaria. Loans are normally granted to the developer in the case of new builds, which may be subrogated to the potential buyer. And financial institutions offer more credit facilities to place their own products, be they new or used. The individual vendor is disadvantaged in this sense.

In terms of the state of the property, new homes are ready to move into and live in, whereas used homes may require the buyer to invest in a face-lift or comprehensive renovation. “Our clients prefer to buy a house in a good building, update it or renovate it to their taste and pay 20% less than they would pay for a new build”, says Fernando Sánchez, agent at Re/Max Urbe. And he continues “problems should not arise if the property has a favourable Technical Building Inspection (report), is energy efficient and has good insulation”.

Regardless of tastes, is it worth paying more for a brand new home? “If we are talking about the same area and similar characteristics in terms of a property, I do not think it is worth paying 10% or 20% more for a new home”, says Duque.

Before signing any agreements, experts advise that (potential buyers) perform a simulation of the annual costs that will result from the purchase. As well as of the monthly costs. One should appreciate that “new builds typically charge higher community fees (to cover the cost of swimming pools, gardens, sports facilities…) and that it is possible to find second-hand homes where the central heating and water costs are included”, say sources at Fotocasa.es.

The fact that the second-hand segment is driving the reactivation of the real estate market is also explained by the fact that there is more supply. And “because the new builds sold by banks are also classified as second-hand”, say experts at Idealista.com. Much of the stock held by banks is classified as ‘used’ even though it is actually brand new, because they are homes that they have absorbed from developers in exchange for the payment of debt.

And whilst the second-hand market is growing, the new build segment is contracting; it is plummeting because hardly any new homes have been constructed in Spain in recent years. It is true that the construction of new homes is now increasing, albeit at a very slow rate. By 2016, the panorama will have changed. Bankinter estimates that, after years of significant decreases, driven by low demand and developer paralysis, sales of new builds will return to a level close to 100,000 units by 2016 (with total sales amounting to 450,000).

Original story: El País (by Sandra López Letón)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Notaries: House Sales Increased & Prices Stabilised In 2014

17 February 2015 – El Economista

House sales grew by 19.1% to 364,601 transactions in 2014 with respect to 2013, a year of minimal activity in the sector, according to the latest statistics from the General Council of Notaries (el Consejo General del Notariado).

So, whilst this rise in the number of transactions should be assessed from that perspective, the statistics reflect the fact that prices have turned the corner on the negative trend observed during the crisis and are growing again, albeit by only 0.1%.

The notaries explain that “last year the real estate market was marked by the stabilisation of monthly figures, in terms of both quantities and prices”.

Increase in sales

In detail, the increase in sales is more evident in the case of single-family homes, a segment that grew by 26.8% to 74,160, versus the 17.3% increase in the sale of flats, although more flats were sold in absolute terms (290,441 transactions).

In the case of the latter, second-hand sales increased by 23.5% to 234,748 transactions, versus an increase of 9.6% in the sale of new flats (39,306).

Prices increase slightly

In terms of the price per square metre, the average value of homes purchased in 2014 was €1,251 (+0.1%). This increase was primarily due to the increase in the value of flats (+1.4%), since the price per square metre of single-family homes fell by 2.7%.

Similarly, sales of second hand properties are driving the sector. The price of used flats increased by 2.4%, whilst the price of new flats remained unchanged.

Finally, 94,586 transactions involving other properties were recorded last year, of which 38.4% related to land or plots.

Therefore, the notaries insist that “the gloomy path of the real estate market ended last year, with the market showing signs of stabilisation compared with the same period in 2013” and they add that “during the first few months of 2015, they expect market figures to continue on the path of stabilisation observed in 2014, although values may be more moderate”.

Improved financing

On the other hand, the mortgage market behaved in line with the stabilisation of the real estate sector in 2014. The market closed the year with a 5% year-on-year increase in the number of new loans granted and with an average amount of €137,878, representing an increase of 10.2%.

In the specific case of mortgage loans granted for the purchase of properties, the number of loans granted last year increased by 39.4%. This increase amounted to 42% in the case of house purchases and 15.6% in the case of other properties.

The average capital of the mortgages granted for the acquisition of a property amounted to €124,217, an increase of 6.4%. In the case of loans for house purchases, the average amount was €117,507, an increase of 5.2%.

More loans for developers

The notarial statistics indicate that the number of mortgage loans granted for construction also increased during the course of the year, by 20.2%. This increase was higher in the case of house construction (23.8%).

In terms of the average loan amount, the figure stood at €288,974 for all mortgages loaned for construction, which represented a year-on-year decrease of 3.5%, slightly higher than the reduction recorded in 2013 (-3%).

Finally, the percentage of homes purchased using mortgage financing stood at 37.5% last year. Moreover, for these purchases, the mortgage represented 75.2% of the value of the home, on average.

Original story: El Economista

Translation: Carmel Drake

Increased Mortgage Lending Supports Spanish Property Market Recovery

21 January 2015 – Spanish News Today

Spanish banks regain confidence in real estate loans

One of the various encouraging aspects of the latest figures published by Spain’s notaries for November, in which further indications are shown that the country’s property market is at last achieving stability and even limited growth, is the increase in the extent to which residential property purchases are being financed by mortgage loans.

The notaries report that during November last year 13,857 residential property purchases were made with the aid of mortgages, 35% more than twelve months previously. At the same time, the average amount loaned by banks remained generally stable, falling by just 0.6% to €113,093 on property purchase mortgages (whilst the price of property itself fell by 1.5%).

In general terms, the notaries conclude that 40.6% of all residential property purchases last November were financed by means of a mortgage loan, the highest proportion in the first eleven months of 2014, and that in these cases the loans covered 74.9% of the total price.

It seems that as price stability becomes a reality it is not just purchasers who are becoming more confident about venturing into the market: banks also appear to be reaching the conclusion that the market is now solid enough for mortgages to represent an acceptable risk.

Original story: Spanish News Today

Translation: Carmel Drake

Spain’s Top Cities Show Signs Of Housing Recovery

21 January 2015 – WSJ

Spain’s residential real-estate recovery is a tale of two cities: Madrid and Barcelona.

Barcelona is the only city in Spain to post an annual increase in home prices during 2014. Prices in the city rose 2.8%, with some neighborhoods gaining as much as 8%.

Madrid, too, has fared better than most. While it hasn’t enjoyed price gains, Madrid’s decline of 4.9% last year was better than the 5.7% drop for Spain overall, according to fotocasa.es, a Spanish property website.

The price performance in Madrid and Barcelona helps explain why Spain’s construction sector is expected to make a comeback in 2015 after seven comatose years, as demand grows amid a modest economic recovery. Most of the building will take place in Spain’s two biggest cities.

“You have to look at Spain as if it were two countries,” says Fernando Rodríguez de Acuña of real-estate consulting firm R.R. de Acuña & Asociados in Madrid. “There’s the Spain that’s recovering. That’s the Spain that has the big cities and wealthy coastal areas. Then there’s the Spain where we went crazy during the housing boom, and that’s not going to recover for at least 10 years.”

New housing permits in greater Madrid were up 26.4% in the first 10 months of last year compared with the same period in 2013, according to the latest available data from Spain’s Ministry of Public Works. Most of the residential construction, investors say, is apartment buildings. Loans to build residential housing in Spain overall were up 25.6% in the third quarter of 2014 from a year earlier, according to Spain’s General Council of Notaries.

No one expects a surge in building comparable to the boom days. Nearly the same number of building permits in greater Madrid were issued in June 2006, at the height of the building frenzy, as in the first 10 months of 2014.

The construction comes as Spain tries to digest an estimated one million unsold empty houses, which can seem “counterintuitive,” says Fernando Encinar, head of research at idealista.com, a Spanish property website. “In 2015, there will be a high level of housing stock at the national level, but a deficit of housing in certain markets that will allow for the construction of new homes.”

Even within Madrid and Barcelona, there are major differences. Home prices in an exclusive neighborhood of Madrid, Chamartín, fell 2.2% in 2014, while another neighborhood south of the center, Villaverde, saw declines of 14.6%, according to data from fotocasa.es.

Spaniards who didn’t lose their jobs during the country’s downturn and have been waiting for house prices to slow their decline are among the most likely buyers, analysts and investors say. Banks also have been more willing recently to issue home mortgages to buy the newly built houses.

(…….)

Fernando Moliner Robredo, Chief Executive of Actívitas Inversión Inmobiliaria SL, the developer of a 105-unit apartment building in the Villaverde neighborhood of Madrid, says a postcrisis building lull created a need for housing. “In Madrid, new housing stock won’t cover demand for more than six or nine months,” he says.

Luis Martín Guirado and César Barrasa, executives at Sareb, Spain’s “bad bank,” say they also are seeing an uptick in demand for land beyond Madrid and Barcelona, including along the Mediterranean Coast and the Balearic Islands.

The expectations for construction growth in Spain break from the norm in other European cities hard hit by the financial crisis. Residential property development in Europe has generally remained sluggish.

“The standout would be Germany, which has been able to maintain robust levels of capital investment,” said Simon Rawlinson, head of strategic research at construction-consultancy Arcadis . “Most others have not.”

Before the crisis, cheap mortgage lending helped drive housing construction in markets like Spain and Ireland. Spain’s construction sector started to collapse in 2008, as the market was clogged by the building boom. The bust saddled banks with billions of euros in bad loans, forcing lawmakers to request a €41 billion bailout from the European Union to shore up confidence in the stability of the country itself.

The signs of life in Spain’s building sector come as the number of unemployed has declined and as the country’s economy—the fourth-largest in the European Union—is expected to grow more than 2% in 2015, among the strongest performers in the region.

But the country’s recovery is a modest one. Unemployment is still a staggering 23.7%, the highest in the EU after Greece.

An increase in construction now “doesn’t mean that everything is going well in the real-estate sector,” says Mr. Rodríguez de Acuña. “Construction is happening in very specific areas and at very competitive prices, which is why they are able to sell it.”

Original story: WSJ (by Jeannette Neumann in Madrid and Art Patnaude in London)

Edited by: Carmel Drake

House Sales Increase By 14% YoY But Prices Fall By 1.5%

20 January 2015 – El Economista

31,576 homes were sold in November 2014, an inter-annual increase of 14%; this figure rises to 18.5% per the seasonally adjusted series, according to the Notarial Statistics published this morning by the General Council of Notaries.

The figures reflect a clear stabilisation in monthly sales. Between January and November 2014, the average number of transactions amounted to 29,016 per month, i.e. 17.5% higher than during the same period in the previous year (24,697).

By type of property, flat sales recorded year-on-year growth of 14.4% (19.1% per the seasonally adjusted series), similar to the increase in free market flats (13.9%). This increase in the number of flat sales was due to a strong rise in the sale of existing flats (21.5%), whilst the purchase of new flats declined by 21.0% year-on-year. Meanwhile, sales of family homes increased by 12.3% year-on-year.

In terms of average prices, the cost per m2 of homes purchased in November was €1,194, reflecting a YoY decrease of 1.5%. This reduction in the m2 cost of homes was driven by a decrease in the price per m2 of flats (-3.1% YoY). The price per m2 of family homes increased by 4.1% YoY.

Within the realm of flats, the price per m2 of existing flats amounted to €1,287 (down 1.3% YoY) and the price per m2 of new flats was €1,506 (down 6.4% YoY).

Finally, 7,568 other property-related transactions were closed in November (up 3.8% YoY); 38.0% of which related to land and plots. The average price per m2 of these transactions amounted to €258 (down 12.0% YoY).

Thus, the sector’s monthly figures continue to show that the Spanish property market is stabilising.

Mortgages

The evolution of the mortgage market for the purchase of homes also reflects the stabilisation observed in the real estate sector, having recorded, for the sixth consecutive month, an increase in overall credit, in both absolute and seasonally adjusted terms.

The number of new mortgages taken out during the month of November amounted to 23,264, which represents a strong year-on-year increase of 10.3% (14.7% per the seasonally adjusted series). The average amount borrowed in this case was €126,525, reflecting a minimal increase of 0.1% year-on-year.

Meanwhile, the number of mortgage loans taken out to acquire a property rose by 35.1% year-on-year in November (to 13,857 loans), due mainly to the increase in lending to purchase a home (la concesión de créditos para la adquisición de una vivienda) (37.3% YoY), whilst an increase of 12.5% was recorded for other properties. The average amount borrowed for acquisition amounted to €113,093 (down 0.6% YoY). For homes, average equity was €109,022 (down 0.4% YoY) and the average loan for other properties amounted to €159,533 (up 0.7% YoY).

In turn, the number of mortgages taken out to finance construction rose by 46.8% in the year to November, to 345 new loans. The average amount borrowed amounted to €255,841, representing a year-on-year decrease of 25.7%, driven by a significant decline in the average capital of loans used to construct non-residential buildings (down 50.7%).

Similarly, the number of mortgages taken out to finance business activities increased by 0.7% year-on-year, whilst the amount borrowed decreased by 21.0%.

Finally, the percentage of homes purchased using mortgage financing amounted to 40.6%. In addition, for this type of purchase with financing, the amount borrowed represented an average of 74.9%.

(……)

Original story: El Economista

Translation: Carmel Drake