The granting of mortgages slows its rate of increase in April

Despite everything, the total figure is the highest monthly figure for April since 2010, when more than 50,000 mortgages were signed

The uncertainty and the imminent rise in rates are beginning to affect the mortgage market in Spain, which closed April with a total of 33,423 Spanish property loans. The figure represents 4.5% more than in the same month of the previous year, but also represents a moderation in the pace of growth in recent months. In March, for example, the rise was 18% with 43,378 headings.

The decrease in the rate is seen more clearly in the monthly comparison, since the figure for April fell by 22.9% compared to March, also far from the -13% of 2021 or -11.5% of 2020. Despite everything , the total figure is the highest in a month of April since 2010, when more than 50,000 mortgages were signed, according to data published by the National Institute of Statistics (INE) this Friday.

Fixed rate mortgages appear to the most popular option by far. In fact, of the total loans signed that month, 75.3% were at a fixed rate and 24.7% at a variable rate. It is believed the recent increases in the Euribor are behind this trend, which has accelerated in recent months due to buyers' fear that banks will raise prices and worsen the conditions for granting finance.

At a general level, the average interest rate is 2.52% and the average term is 25 years. However, the average interest rate at the beginning is 2.16% for home mortgages at a variable rate and 2.65% for those at a fixed rate.

Regarding the average amount borrowed, it stood at 142,253 euros in April, with an increase of 2.2% in year-on-year comparison. Month-on-month, borrowed capital sank 24.8%, the biggest drop in an April month since 2018.

By Communities, the regions with the highest annual variation rates in April were Castilla-La Mancha (29.4%), the Balearic Islands (27.7%) and Aragón (16.4%). For their part, the communities with the lowest annual variation rates were Extremadura (-12.7%), Comunidad de Madrid (-9.5%) and Comunidad Valenciana (-7.1%).