The rise in the Euribor has placed the average mortgage rate at 4.67% in unlinked loans, almost two points more than in 2022, when the invasion of Ukraine put an end to the negative interest trend, according to the latest barometer from the association of users of banking Asufin.
The current 4.67% contrasts with the 2.76% average for 2022. The percentage is somewhat lower, 4.29%, in loans that do require some type of link, compared to 2.32% from the previous exercise.
The Euribor, on which banks apply a differential in their mortgage offers, closed February above 3.5%, although the daily rate is already around 3.8%. The forecast is that this year it will be above 4%.
The European Central Bank (ECB) meets this Thursday to foreseeably approve a new half-point rise in interest rates, up to 3.5%, according to messages from its president, Christine Lagarde.
Asufin indicates that the reaction of consumers to the tightening of credit conditions is consisting of postponing home purchase plans or opting for the fixed mortgage, which already monopolizes 70% of the contracts, compared to 38% three years ago.
The INE has detected that mortgage loans to purchase housing fell by 16.1% year-on-year in January, up to 20,758 operations, despite the fact that prices have not yet begun to fall.
Asufin highlights the competitiveness of mixed mortgages, with an average price without a link of 4.55% or 4.17% with it. Fixed mortgages are already at 4.13%.
Consumers, the barometer also points out, are backing down in their intention to take out a mortgage, due to the high level of uncertainty. There are already 17% of those who were analyzing the purchase of a home who have given up the operation, when a year ago the percentage was barely 3%.
64% of those who give up buying a home do so because of interest rate rises, compared to 21% who cite falling incomes as the reason and 10% who allude to the advisability of waiting for better opportunities.
