The rises in interest rates are not yet increasing the delinquencies of mortgage holders or dramatically reducing the purchase and sale of homes, but they are already appearing strongly in a part of the banking business closely linked to real estate activity. In April, mortgage renegotiations have skyrocketed, reaching levels not seen in at least a decade.
According to data published today by the Bank of Spain, mortgages for 2,503 million euros were renegotiated in April, five times more than the 449 million in March and 31% more than in all of 2022, when the figure was 1,910 million. It is a figure that breaks the parameters of a month and is more similar to those of the annual records. A decade ago, the renegotiations were about 9,000 million euros a year.
Juan Ignacio Navas, founding partner of the Navas law firm
Experts agree in attributing this strong increase to the rise in interest rates and the search among those with mortgages for better conditions. As they indicate, these are bilateral operations with the bank outside the aid of the code of good practices signed by the Government and the banks, which, however, does include during this year the gratuity when going from variable rate to permanent.
From the Spanish Mortgage Association (AHE), its analyst Leyre López specifies that renegotiations do not have to respond to a difficult situation, as is the case of refinancing, which are those that correspond to the exceptional aid included in the code of good practices.
“They are usually operations for renewal or subrogation to a new entity because the client has chosen to improve their conditions and convert the loan they have to the fixed rate,” he explains. These changes, she specifies, occur “without incurring in an accounting situation of delinquency.”
From the banking association AEB they influence the option of resorting to personal alternatives with the entity itself. “The banks are providing solutions through the code of good practices and also through bilateral solutions,” they point out.
Meanwhile, the mortgage market maintains its dynamism. In April, new operations amounted to 6,231 million euros, the highest figure so far this year and also since July last year, according to data from the Bank of Spain.
According to the latest quarterly report from the Association of Registrars, 32.7% of the mortgages signed in the first quarter of the year were at a variable rate, compared to 63.3% at a fixed rate. House prices rose 1.29% between January and March.
