February Saw a 9.2% increase in home loans
In February, there were 31,018 new mortgages taken in Spain, 9.2% more than in the same month last year. The average amount of the new loans reached 123,911 euros, an increase of 2.9%, according to data from the INE.
The value of all mortgages taken for property reached 6,804.3 million euros which is 31.2% more than in February 2018. New loans taken for the purchase of housing amounted to 3,843.5 million euros, an annual increase of 12.3%.
Interest Rates
For all mortgages taken in February, the average interest rate at the start of the loan was 2.46% (0.4% higher than February 2018). Additionally, the average term of the loans was 22 years. 59.5% of February’s new mortgages were on a variable interest rate with the remaining 40.5% on a fixed rate.
The average rate at the start of the term for variable rate loans was 2.32% (1.9% lower than in February 2018). For fixed rate loans is was 3.32% (3% higher than last year).
For home mortgages, the average interest rate was 2.62% (1.1% lower than the previous February). The average term was 23 years. 58.2% of housing mortgages taken in February were on a variable interest rate with 41.8% on a fixed rate. The number of fixed-rate mortgages registered an annual increase of 17.4%.
The average rate at the start of the term for variable rate housing loans was 2.37% (a 4% decrease), and 3.05% for fixed rate loans (0.4% higher).
Results by Autonomous Communities
The communities with the largest number of new housing mortgages taken in February are Madrid (6,373), Cataluña (5,448) and Andalucía (5,179).
Total capital loaned for housing purchases reached the highest levels in the same three communities: Madrid (1,014.5 million euros), Cataluña (837.6 million) and Andalucía (558.6 million).
The highest annual variation rates in borrowed capital was seen in Asturias (56.9%), La Rioja (41.3%) and Castilla – La Mancha (32.6%).
Asturias (55.6%), Castilla – La Mancha (43.1%) and La Rioja (39.3%) saw the highest annual variation in the number of new home mortgages.
On the other hand, the Balearic Islands (-19.3%), Navarra (-10.6%) and Cantabria (-9.3%) presented the most negative annual variation rates.
