19% increase in Spanish mortgage activity in first half of year

Property sales in Spain are at a five-year high, with the average mortgage value also increasing steadily.

Data from Spain’s National Statistics Institute (INE) has revealed that, up to June 30 2016, a total of 146,605 mortgages have been registered this year – a 19% increase in the space of a year…

Looking at the past 12 months, the data also shows that more than 270,000 mortgages have been approved in Spain during that period, which was also a 19.1% increase on the year previously.

For June alone, the 25,274 mortgage registrations also represented a sharp year-on-year increase of 15.5%, with the average loan capital also rising to €112,516, which is a 7.5% increase in the space of a year.

These data points confirm what various studies and market reports have been saying all year – interest in Spanish property has grown significantly in 2016, while prices have stabilised nationwide as industry confidence returns and the wider Spanish economy improves.

A growing number of mortgages being offered are of the fixed rate variety due to the low Euribor rate, which regulates repayment terms across much of Europe. This trend is driving a surge in home buying activity – further data from the Official College of Property Registrars of Spain shows that the 12 months to June saw 382,000 property transactions, which is the highest for five years.