Neither fixed nor variable. Or rather, both, but at different times. In this way, the operation of the mixed mortgage could be summarized, an option that is currently barely chosen by one in 10 or 20 users, according to data from the sector. Relegated to the background by the particularly attractive cost of fixed-rate loans, in turn pushed down by variable rates that are on the ground, the mixed mortgage has lost some of its appeal, despite that some entities try to return it to you.
A mixed mortgage loan is, in reality, a credit for which, during a first period, the monthly payment with which the user returns it is made up of a part of the capital plus a fixed interest. Once this section is finished, another will begin in which the interests will change over time, when calculated with a variable index (usually the Euribor) plus a fixed differential that can be more or less high depending on the profile of the mortgaged, but which is usually around the porcentual point. In other words, it is a fixed mortgage at the beginning, which becomes variable later.
“Although in theory it is possible for banks to charge a variable interest rate in the first stage of the mortgage, the usual thing is to start with a fixed interest rate for a period that can range from three to 10 years,” explains the CEO from the bank comparator iAhorro, Marcel Beyer. In this way, the entities “ensure higher and more constant interests throughout the first part of the loan, since they do not depend on the evolution of the Euribor”, he adds. Of course, within this phase, in some specific cases, “it is possible to agree on different sections where this fixed rate can be modified,” says Ángel Martínez León, member of the Governing Council of the General Council of real estate agents (Coapi).
In his opinion, “mixed mortgages are increasingly chosen by consumers who request a loan of an average amount, because although in the first years the fixed rates are usually higher than in a variable mortgage, they give peace of mind due to the stability of the loans. dues”. Beyer calculates that, currently, this class of loans accounts for only 5% of those signed each month through the company he directs, while fixed mortgages represent around 80% (55% in February, according to the INE).
The fixed wins
“Right now the mixed mortgage is not very interesting because its fixed interest rate is usually higher than the one that can be obtained in a loan that is repaid with a fixed rate throughout its life, and its offer is somewhat limited”, Beyer deepens. It is true that, to redden the banner of mixed mortgage loans, some banks have lowered the costs of the products associated with mortgages (for example, life and home insurance) and amortization commissions. “Even so, its conditions are not far from the rest of mortgages,” he says.
The primacy is taken by the fixed ones. With the Euribor in negative for years and, now, floating around its all-time low, banks have launched a war of increasingly advantageous fixed interest rates, to attract more customers and link them to a formula that guarantees benefits that the Euribor cannot diminish. For this reason, and “with a fixed interest rate that is close to 1%” in iAhorro, Beyer says he is convinced that “more and more people will opt directly for a stable fee instead of the mixed model”.
The reason is simple. If “the mixed mortgage has always been the option for those users who want to benefit from lower interest rates in the tranche in which they do not vary, now they prefer to bet on security, especially since a fixed rate throughout the life of the loan is you can find it much cheaper than before ”, says Beyer, who advises a fixed loan to consumers who are suspicious of a possible rise in the Euribor in the long term and want to take advantage of the current situation.
On the contrary, since “the index is likely to remain at very low levels over the next five years, the variable mortgage would be more advisable for those who want to benefit from such a low Euribor in the medium term and request a short-term loan or they can pay it off early, ”says Beyer.
In this context, the mixed mortgage makes little sense. Another rooster would crow “if interest rates were higher and with the probability that they would fall in the medium term,” he concludes.
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