The standard mortgage of 2018 returns to touch the 600 euros

The standard mortgage of 2018 returns to touch the 600 euros

The signature of loans for housing rebounds to levels of 2011, with 345,000 concessions, with an amount that rises to an average of 126,300 euros and a lower interest, which falls to 2.4%

   Those who went into the purchase of a home during the past year proved how the conditions of the mortgages granted by their respective banks were more benevolent in terms of cost, although they had to ask for more money to finance the operation as a result of the rise of prices in the real estate market. With these characteristics, the average monthly quota that had to assume those mortgaged reached 592 euros . It approaches the psychological limit of 600 euros per month, which was not seen for more than seven years.

   This fee is 5% higher than that assumed by the new mortgages, on average, in 2017, which amounted to 564 euros per month. The increase occurs as a result of the increase in the amount requested from the bank, which does not compensate for the reduction in interest rates or the longer term to which the loans are granted.

Specifically, the amount financed by the banks was 126,394 euros , which represents an increase of close to 10% with respect to the data of the previous year, according to INE data. The dynamism shown by the housing market in the last 12 months has a direct reflection on that mortgage amount: when raising the prices of houses and flats, buyers need more money to finance the operation. In fact, it is the highest average amount requested since 2010 , when the market already suffered as a result of the economic crisis, which was then taking its first steps.

In exchange for having to ask for more money from the bank, the new mortgages had an initial advantage in their loans: the reduction in interest rates. The average financial cost of housing loans in 2018 stood at 2.62%. It is a figure that represents 4% less than the previous year, when those interests had been placed, on average, at 2.73% . The fall in this cost is mainly due to the anchoring of the Euribor in negative territory - it closed last year between -0.14% and -0.19% -, as well as the greater competition of the entities to take the cake mortgage with offers that, especially in the case of mortgages at a fixed rate, was very relevant.

This type of loans with stable installments represented 41.1% of the new concessions approved last year, compared to 58.6% of the variables. The weight of fixed-rate companies continued to rise for the third consecutive year, although they did not manage to be the majority, despite the bank's efforts to market them among the new mortgages. The fixed average interest rate fell below 3% - 5% less than in 2017 - while that of the variables also fell to 2.4% - with a decrease also close to 5%.

The third condition that influences mortgages is the term to which they are granted. And for the first time in the last five years, the amortization period to which they are authorized has increased one more year, up to 24 years in total. This increase implies that the invoice assumed by the buyers is greater, in the long term, as it takes more time to pay more interest during the life of the current credit. The records are still far from the 28 years, on average, which were signed many mortgages in 2008. Then, a good part of the loans were commercialized over 30 years, reaching 40 years, and even in some cases up to 50. A practice that does not exist now.

In general terms, the value of all new mortgages constituted in 2018 totaled 42,708.97 million euros, 16.5% more than the previous year, while its average amount grew by 5.6% and reached 123,727 euros . Only in December of last year 20,933 new mortgage contracts were created to acquire a home in Spain, practically the same (0.9% more) than in the same month of 2017 but 27.4% lower than in November, adds the INE.

At the end of 2018, financial institutions had lent a total of 68,117 million euros in mortgages for any purpose (11.2% more), of which 65,787 million were to finance the purchase of urban properties (12.1% more ) and another 2,330 million to acquire rural properties (9.4% less).