Seeking stability in times of uncertainty is a very human thing. This explains, in large part, why about 70% of mortgages taken out in Spain have a fixed interest rate, according to the National Institute of Statistics. With inflation skyrocketing and an Euribor that does not stop rising (it is the index with which variable mortgages are calculated), most home buyers prefer to avoid risk and pay a constant fee that does not change depending on the ups and downs. of the macroeconomic situation of the European continent.
Getting one of these products at a good price, however, will be more difficult from now on. After the latest rate hike by the European Central Bank, which went from 0.5% to 1.25% last week, banks in our country will pay more to obtain financing. And, as a consequence, they will increase the interest applied on their fixed mortgages, since in this way they will be able to maintain their profit margins and will encourage, incidentally, the contracting of variable mortgages (with which they will earn more money due to the rise in the Euribor).
Now, if they hurry, those interested in contracting a fixed mortgage can still get attractive conditions, because there are banks that have not yet raised their rates and offer fixed interests of around 2% or below. From the financial comparator HelpMyCash.com they have analyzed all these proposals and have drawn up their own top 3, led by the imagin mortgage loan (CaixaBank’s online bank) and followed by the products of Ibercaja and EVO Banco.
In the opinion of HelpMyCash analysts, the imaginBank Fixed Mortgage from the online entity imagin (belonging to CaixaBank) is the best in the market within this modality. Your interest is the lowest: 1.70% in exchange for direct debiting your salary, pension or professional income, with a minimum amount of 1,200 euros per month in all cases. If this requirement is not met, yes, the rate rises to 2.45%.
With this loan you can finance up to 90% of the purchase of a regular home, which is a higher percentage than the usual 80% offered by almost all banks, while the repayment term can be up to 30 years. The client, in addition, does not have to pay an opening commission.
The Easy Fixed Mortgage of Ibercaja occupies the second drawer of this podium. The interest, in this case, is 2.25% if the holders direct their salaries and they have a minimum joint amount of 2,500 euros per month. If this condition is not met, the rate applied rises to 3.25%.
Ibercaja offers to finance up to 80% of the purchase of a primary residence, with a minimum amount of 100,000 euros and a term of up to 25 years, which is shorter than what most banks usually offer (up to 30 years). As with the previous loan, the Easy Fixed Mortgage has no opening commission.
The bronze goes to EVO Banco’s Fixed Rate Smart Mortgage. It has an interest of 2.05%, which is lower than that of the Ibercaja loan. However, to achieve this, you have to domicile a minimum recurring income of 600 euros per month and take out two insurance policies from the bank (home and life), which makes its price more expensive. If none of these requirements are met, the rate applied is 2.45%.
The amount of this mortgage can be up to 80% of the price of the main residence to be purchased, while the maximum repayment term offered by EVO Banco is 30 years. Like the previous fixed mortgages, this one does not have an opening commission either.
The three entities mentioned still offer a very competitive interest, but it is possible that they will increase it in the coming weeks or months due to the new policy of the European Central Bank. For this reason, if the client wants to make sure of getting good conditions, it is advisable to request financing from as many banks as possible. Thus, he will have more options on the table and will be able to opt for the entity that grants him the cheapest mortgage.
Another option, if the client wants to speed up the procedures, is to delegate the request to a mortgage broker. According to HelpMyCash, this professional saves time and money, because he requests financing from several banks at the same time and is in charge of negotiating the best possible conditions. In some cases, it is possible that he charges a fee of between 3,000 and 5,000 euros on average, but they only have to be paid if the loan is signed and they are usually compensated with what the applicant saves in interest.
