Spanish mortgage approvals up 20% in space of a year

Since pretty much flatlining in 2014, mortgage approvals rose 20% in 2015, driving Spain’s property market recovery.

Yet more positive data has emerged from Spain’s National Statistics Institute (INE) that reveals the rosy state of the nation’s housing market.

After it was revealed last week that Spanish property prices are set to enjoy an average increase of around 6.3% in 2016, new stats from the INE revealed that the level of mortgage lending in 2015 was 20% up on that recorded in 2014…

Overall last year, 244,837 mortgage loans were approved, up 19.8% on 2014’s figures. By value, Spanish banks lent a total of €25.9 billion, which itself was a 24.1% increase on 2014.

The INE helpfully crunched the numbers and found that the ‘average’ mortgage loan was €105,930 per transaction – a figure that proved yet another increase on 2014, rising by 3.6%.

By region, Andalucía was once again among the front-runners nationwide, with an increase of more than 20% in mortgage approvals, while many other regions posted similar numbers.

The loosening of Spain’s lending is a sure sign that Spanish banks have regained confidence in the country’s housing market, and with low interest rates a feature of the market once again, Spaniards are able to enjoy a positive and encouraging home-buying climate, and the most favourable terms since before the crash in 2008.