New mortgages in Spain cost six percent more than in 2021

Mortgage loans in Spain increased by six percent in 2022, meaning that Spaniards are now paying an average of 30 percent of their salaries on payments.

Published: 27 March 2023 11:17 CEST

New mortgages in Spain cost six percent more than in 2021

New mortgage payments increase by six percent in Spain. Photo: Dovile Ramoskaite / Unsplash

According to the latest data from the Real Estate Registry Statistics yearbook of the College of Registrars, the average mortgage payments from new loans have risen by 5.8 percent in the last year, to stand at €646.7, the highest annual average since 2009, in which the average bill amounted to €671.

This figure means that Spaniards are now having to pay just over 30 percent of their average gross salary on mortgage bills, a threshold that is far exceeded in Madrid and the Balearic Islands.

Large differences have been seen in the amount of the increase between each region in Spain, although an upward trend has been noted in all of them. The largest annual increases in mortgage payments have been registered in the Balearic Islands (20.1 percent), La Rioja (14.6 percent), Madrid (8 percent) and Extremadura (7.4 percent).

Those in the Balearic Islands also pay the largest monthly payments for new mortgages, which reaches €1,097.9, €450 above the national average. This is followed by Madrid (€959.1), Catalonia (€727.8) and the Basque Country (€679.3), which are the only regions that exceed the national average.

On the other hand, at the opposite end of the scale, Murcia (€418.1), Castilla-La Mancha (€462.2) and Castilla y León (€476) are the areas where the monthly payments are the lowest.

According to the Association of Registrars, the increase in the cost of new mortgages is due both to the increase in the average amount of loans signed throughout 2022 and to the shortening of the average contract, which fell by 0.7 percent to 24.4 years, as well as the rise in the Euribor.

Last year the real estate market reached figures not seen in the last twelve years with a total of 463,463 mortgage loans given out, 11.6 percent more than the previous year. The average amount of these loans rose by 4.7 percent to €145,190, the highest amount recorded since mid-2008.

Not only has the price of housing risen – property became more expensive on average in 2022 by 6.7 percent to €1,944 per square metre – but interest rates have also grown intensely.

The Real Estate Registry Statistics show that the average contracting interest rate in 2022 stood at 2.28 percent – 2.40 percent for fixed mortgages and 2.03 percent for variable ones.

The average salary has also increased, but not to the same extent as mortgages, so the effort required to purchase a home has risen by three-tenths. The latest data shows that the average mortgage payment represents 30.95 percent of the average salary in Spain, although the differences are again significant between regions.

The Balearic Islands is the region where Spaniards have the greatest difficulty in accessing a mortgage as the monthly re-payments represent an average of 56.49 percent of the average gross salary. In Madrid, it’s 38.19 percent of the average salary, while in Catalonia it’s 32.22 percent.

At the bottom end are Murcia where 22.69 percent of salaries go on mortgages, Asturias with 23.71 percent and Extremadura with 23.87 percent.

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A monthly index released by property experts TINSA has revealed that property prices in Spain in May rose month-on-month by an average of 0.3 percent compared to April, and are 4.8 percent more expensive year-on-year overall.

The range of price rises, however, depends hugely on where in the country the property is located. Spain’s islands and coastal areas, particularly the Mediterranean coast, were where house prices increased the most in the last month, while prices in inland Spain actually fell slightly.

According to Tinsa’s data, property is currently 4.8 percent more expensive than in May 2022, a slight decrease on year-on-year increases of more than 7 percent recorded throughout much of the second half of 2022.

“The average national residential price continues its trend towards stabilisation in the face of rising financing costs and the loss of purchasing power in the face of inflation, although employment continues to sustain household solvency. As a result, sales activity is gradually moderating, maintaining levels above 2019,” Cristina Arias, director of research at Tinsa, told Spanish news outlet 20 minutos.

Coastal areas and islands have seen the highest increases, largely because they are the main beneficiaries of tourism that attract potential second-home buyers to the area, while in large cities and metropolitan areas, prices are generally moderating.

Property prices grew by 1.4 percent in the Canary Islands and Balearic Islands and by 0.9 percent on the Mediterranean coast in May.

“The islands and, to a lesser extent, the Mediterranean coast are experiencing a new momentum in prices that could be a reflection of second home buying and selling. Buyers have greater purchasing power and are less sensitive to inflation and rising mortgage costs, as they often require less external financing for the purchase of a second home,” Arias said.

Compared to price levels in May 2022, housing in Spain’s archipelagos and coastal areas are 5.4 percent and 4.7 percent more expensive respectively than a year ago.

Across the rest of the country, prices continue to moderate, dipping slightly in some inland areas, although in metropolitan areas the increase in May was 6.3 percent in the year-on-year rate.

Prices in large cities rose by 4.3 percent compared to May 2022, while in inland Spain the increase was 3.3 percent, though the overall trend seems to be a downward one, as in January the year-on-year growth rate was over 7 percent.