Real Estate Portals Highlight Decline in Spanish Mortgage Market

MADRID, 27 (SERVIMEDIA)

The main real estate portals operating in Spain highlighted this Wednesday that the decline data from the housing mortgage firm shows that the “slowdown” that has been occurring in recent months “is a reality” and they anticipated that this trend will continue in the coming years. next months.

From Idealista, its general director specialized in mortgages, Juan Villén, highlighted that the data for July, a period in which mortgages fell by 18.8% and chained the sixth month of decline, “delves into the trend that we have been observing in the last few months” of a decrease in transactions, higher mortgage prices and greater prominence of mixed mortgages.

Villén predicted that this trend will continue in the coming months, although “it is possible that by the end of the year the drop in transactions will slow down and, at some point, the rise in prices will also find its ceiling.”

From Fotocasa, the Director of Studies, María Matos, highlighted that the figures return to “normal levels prior to the pandemic”, which is why she understands that the market shows “great resilience” in an environment of rising rates.

He also pointed out that there is an increase in home buyers “with high financial solvency”, who are familiar with the sector, and an increase in foreign demand, a profile that needs less financial help than the average Spaniard.

In any case, Matos agreed that the smaller firms are reflecting that the citizen’s pocketbook is suffering and “the strategy” of the banks to lower the cost of variable mortgages and toughen the fixed ones “is having results” and a change in the trend is expected. more pronounced to the detriment of fixed ones, which is already making mixed ones emerge.

“We will continue to see the moderation in the volume of sales and mortgage firms will reduce at a greater rate due to the more restrictive financial conditions,” Matos predicted.

From Pisos.com, the Director of Studies, Ferran Font, agreed that month after month the data shows a “cooling of the market.”

He also compared the data on mortgages and sales to highlight that loans already account for 61% of purchases when it is usually 70%, which is why he concluded that “the number of home purchases without the need for a mortgage is increasing.”

OTHER ANALYSTS

The General Council of the Official Associations of Real Estate Agents of Spain (Coapi) added that fewer and more expensive mortgages are being signed, “a situation that does not seem to be reversed in the coming months due to monetary policies promoted by the European Central Bank (ECB)”. To this he added that the market is cyclical, so “stabilization is logical” after the positive data from 2016-2019 and 2021-2022.

Coapi wanted to add that the lack of a “solid” Government and the “legal uncertainty” derived from the Housing Law “has caused a decrease in interest in purchasing homes.”

For their part, Ibercaja stated that, given that the ECB intends to maintain high rates for a long time, “the fall in mortgages granted can be expected to continue in the coming months, although the pace will moderate as we approach levels of sustainable transactions in the medium and long term.”

(SERVIMEDIA)27-SEP-2023 12:02 (GMT +2)MMR/gja

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