December saw a 43% increase in new mortgages
In December, there were 30,285 new mortgage loans for home purchases, a massive 43% more than in December 2018. Compared to the previous month, the variation was +3.9%, according to figures released this week by the INE.
The average amount of those loans fell slightly to 122,079 euros, a 4.2% drop. The total amount of capital borrowed for home purchases in December reached 3,697.2 million euros, an annual increase of 37.1%.
Interest Rates
For home mortgages taken in December, the average interest rate at the start of the loan term was 2.53% (3.5% lower than in December 2018) and the average term of the loans was 23 years. 56% of new loans began with a variable rate, with the other 44% on a fixed interest rate.
The average interest rate at the beginning of the loan term was 2.2% for mortgages on variable-rates (a decrease of 9.1%) and 3.06% for fixed-rate mortgages (2.6% higher).
Madrid and Catalonia Lend Most
The top three autonomous communities in terms of the number of new mortgages approved in December are Madrid (6,787), Andalusia (5,082) and Catalonia (4,207).
The same three communities loaned the highest amount of capital for new home mortgages, but in a different order. Madrid lent the most (1,114.2 million euros), followed by Catalonia (620.5 million) and Andalusia (588.7 million).
The communities with the highest annual variation rates in mortgage borrowing are Castilla – La Mancha (136.8%), Madrid (57.5%) and the Canary Islands (54.3%).
The communities with the highest annual variation rates in the number of new home mortgages are Castilla – La Mancha (167.8%), Canary Islands (129.1%) and Madrid (71.0%).
On the other hand, La Rioja registered the only negative rate (–9.0%) and the Basque Country (2.1%) and Comunidad Foral de Navarra (16.8%) presented the smallest increases.
2019 Results
The number of new home mortgages taken in the whole of 2019 was 357,720, 2.7% higher than the previous year.
The average amount borrowed for buying a home in Spain in 2019 was 125,007 euros, 0.6% higher than the previous year. The total amount of capital borrowed for a home mortgage throughout the year reached a massive 44,717.5 million, an increase of 3.3%.
Geographical Distribution
The communities with the highest number of home mortgage loans during 2019 were Madrid (69,616), Andalucía (67,845) and Catalonia (57,787).
The communities in which the most capital was lent for home purchases were Madrid (11,739.5 million euros), Catalonia (8,562 million) and Andalusia (7,382.7 million).
The communities with the highest annual increases in the number of home mortgages in 2019 were Castilla – La Mancha (17.9%), Valencia (6.8%) and Murcia (6.1%). On the other hand, Navarra (–9.4%), La Rioja (–6.1%) and the Balearic Islands (–3.6%) showed the greatest decreases.
