Home mortgages slowed down in September

According to the data published by the INE, in September 29,388 mortgages on housing were formalized and in 37% of them a fixed interest rate was used, a percentage that grows at a constant rate and that experts believe will surpass that of the variable rate loans "during 2018".

The average mortgage on housing registered in September was 123,649 euros, 9.6% more than a year earlier and 10.9% more than the previous month, which experts attribute to the growing competition between entities, which activates the demand for financing.

In total, the capital lent in the financial system to acquire a home in Spain reached 3,633.8 million euros in September, almost 20% more than a year before and 22.6% more than in August.

For Beatriz Toribio, director of research for Fotocasa, this moderation in the granting of mortgages is in line with the behaviour of purchases in September, which also saw its rate of growth slowed down due to the effect of summer, as well as to the normalization to which the sector is moving towards.

According to Toribio, the housing market is stabilizing and as a consequence, there will be months in which we will find lower growth rates or even falls, but the trend and prospects are positive because there is financing, optimism among the main agents of the sector and the economic situation accompanies.

“Housing returns, to arouse interest in investors and individuals, but the recovery will be slow and moderate and will go by areas," he explains.

The head of research for idealista.com, Fernando Encinar, trusts that the upward trend in the signing of mortgages will maintain in the coming months, "although the Catalan uncertainty could soften this increase."

Along the same line, the head of research for Pisos.com, Ferran Font, believes that the data published, despite the fact that they note some moderation, reaffirm that the "positive path" continues since this fifth consecutive year-on-year rise  "shows that the loans continue to reach buyers. "

The spokesman of the Spanish Association of Banking, AEB, José Luis Martínez Campuzano, highlights the high demand we see in recent months, although explains that, considering the severe market adjustment experienced in recent years, it also shows the preference of families for housing in an environment of improving economic prospects and employment.

"The fundamental thing, in this case, is that Spanish banks offer good financing conditions and a transparent offer that continues to make it possible for families to materialize their dreams,” he says.

At the end of September, the value of the mortgages on the total number of properties - rural and urban - was 5,709.6 million euros (10.6% more); of which 236,352 euros were destined to rural properties and 5,473.2 million (11.5% more) were allocated to the purchase of urban farms.

Mortgages on homes accounted for 63.7% of the total capital lent in September and the average repayment term was 24 years. 63.4% of mortgages on housing were made at a variable rate and 36.6% at a fixed rate.

By Autonomous Communities, Madrid (5,660); Andalusia (5,542) and Catalonia (4,989) registered the highest number of mortgages on homes in September.

Those with the highest annual variation rates were Aragón (20.2%), Valencia (19.8%) and Castilla-La Mancha (18.6%).
The communities in which more capital was lent for mortgages on housing were Madrid (970.7 million euros); Catalonia (704.4 million) and Andalusia (618.2 million).

The Autonomies with the highest monthly variation rates in the number of mortgages on homes were Madrid (26.6%); Catalonia (25.1%) and Valencia (22.8%), while those with the lowest rates were Navarra (-25.1%); La Rioja (-21.1%) and Extremadura (-9.3%).