Mixed mortgages have been the queens of 2023, benefiting from a changing environment in terms of the Euribor in a year in which the European Central Bank (ECB) has carried out several interest rate increases. For this reason, those who want to buy a home ask themselves: is it advisable to sign a cheaper mixed deal now and then subrogate the loan at a fixed interest?
The answer would be yes, but with nuances. “After 10 months of increases, it seems that We have already reached the end of this bullish policy of the ECB“, points out Joan Balasch, operations manager of Housfy Hipotecas. “It is expected that within five years the Euribor relaxes againbut it’s all assumptions.”
“2024 will be the year of inflection in the trend of the Euribor.” This is what they believe on the Hipoo platform. As you remember, November closed with a slight drop in the index, below 4% (3.926%), placing the average for the month at 4.022%, “which gives us an indicative to see that its curve could have taken its highest values in the month of August and September”.
“If the latest data on inflation continue to be positive, as long as the deceleration continues to be present, it is most likely that the year 2023 will close with a Euribor that will confirm that end of the curve, closing at values below 4% , returning it to a flat and slow descending pathaffecting slight increases or decreases, marked by extraordinary events that affect inflation,” they predict.
If the downward forecasts on the Euribor and interest rates were met, “it could be more advisable sign a cheaper mixed now and then, when the rate scenario improves, have the possibility of subrogate the loan at a lower fixed interest“, they say in Housfy.
Thus taking advantage of the low commissions during the variable section, they add. With this scenario, they would recommend a minimum of three years of coverage at a fixed rate “so as not to be exposed to a review with a Euribor above 4%”, says. As they point out, most banks already offer fixed or mixed mortgages to all types of profiles, even those with lower incomes. “Unless the person intends to pay off the entire mortgage in the first year, As of today, variable interest is not recommended in any case“.
For this reason, they recommend mixed mortgages to two types of contractors: “To anyone who intends to repay the mortgage in a relatively short term (up to approximately 10 years) and to those people who, due to their economic profile, cannot access a generous fixed interest rate or the proposals offered exceed the 4% TIN”.
Who might want to pay off the mortgage in the short term? For example, savers who have money in a fixed-term deposit that they are going to withdraw in less than a year, those who are pending to settle an inheritance or sell an apartment they own in the coming months, he adds.
The scenario of rising interest rates and, consequently, an increase in mortgage costs for those with a variable or mixed rate is also causing movements in search of greater security and lower costs.
“Novations and subrogations have been the order of the day since the Euribor began to climb in 2022. The change to a fixed rate is a reflection of citizens’ concern about whether the index continues to increase and having to face a possible increase in the price of the fee in the future. In addition, the offers from financial entities make the variable rate more attractive than the fixed rate at the moment. But what is most striking is the little impact that the Code of Good Practices to which vulnerable groups can benefit and who are not doing so due to lack of information and ignorance,” comments María Matos, the Director of Studies and spokesperson for Fotocasa.
Although in volume the figure is lower, in percentage terms the movement that has occurred towards the mixed mortgage, since 14% of those who have a loan of this type had a variable until a year ago. Another 6% comes from a landline, according to figures from the real estate portal.
Therefore, it can be said that there is a lot of movement among people with variable rate mortgages to look for solutions to the increase in costs that the current scenario entails. In fact, among those who still have a variable mortgage, there are 11% who have tried to change it, but have not succeeded, and 14% who intend to do so in the future. Among those who have a mixed one, the intention to change is even greater: 17% of them have tried, but have not succeeded, and another 23% intend to change it.
This process of changing the mortgage type has the banks as necessary interlocutors. 43% of those who have modified the type of their mortgage in the last twelve months did so without changing financial institution. Another 35% did have to change banks to be able to do it. And the remaining 22% changed banks, even though they could have done so with theirs, because they offered better conditions or other personal reasons.
2023-12-16 05:12:07
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