The decrease in the Euribor due to the forecast that interest rates have already peaked reinforces the mortgage supply. After a more expensive start to the year, fixed and mixed loans are becoming cheaper and look like a better 2024 for those looking to get a mortgage.
In the last months of the year, discounts usually arrive to meet the objectives set by the entities. This year there has been less movement, the sources consulted agree. A more gradual adjustment in general offers is chosen. “Some have improved, but very slightly. We hope that in January they will catch the spirit of the sales,” says Laura Martínez, spokesperson for the iAhorro comparator. The falling Euribor brings discounts “especially on fixed and mixed mortgages.” The reference will do its part: the forecast is that it will fluctuate towards 3.5% in the first half of the year, even 3.2% in the second if inflation does not get out of control and the ECB maintains or lowers rates, he predicts.
Although the debate always goes between fixed and variable, today the attention of the entities is on the mixed ones, which combine both: first about 5 or 10 years fixed and the rest of the life of the loan at a variable rate. The bank puts more pressure on them since “it seems that the Euribor is stabilizing and allows them to make aggressive offers,” says Ricard Garriga, CEO of the Trioteca platform.
For the client the hook is the best conditions. In the initial part, the rate is lower than a 100% fixed rate. That is why Garriga sees them today as ideal, proposing a change of bank or renegotiation when entering the stage referenced to Euribor. There they also have a lower differential than a pure variable, but logically they are at the mercy of the Euribor. “They can be obtained for a TIN – base throughout this article – of 2.52% in the fixed section and Euribor 0.66% in the variable.” Today the fixed rates that Trioteca closes are around 3.05% and the variable rates are around 0.85%.
The outlook for 2024 would also improve fixed mortgages, if anything. Roberto Ballesteros, CEO of Grocasa Hipotecas, is more inclined towards this modality. Although they are more expensive than the mixed one at the beginning, “you have to look at the long term”, with the conditions already set for the entire life of the loan. This avoids possible worsening in the economy of the mortgaged or the market when trying to change a mixed one. “The rise in the Euribor has taken low incomes out of the market. More reasonable prices can bring them closer to returning. We started 2023 with fixed rates at 3.5% and today we see 2.5%-2.8%,” he insists.
“Although entities have made them significantly more expensive during the last year and a half, they are still stuck with competitive rates. Like Santander (2.80%) or BBVA (from 2.90%),” says Miquel Riera, specialist at the HelpMyCash portal. In addition to having more connections, the best conditions and discounts tend to go in any case to employees with job stability, civil servants, whose quota does not exceed 30% of their income, high salaries… “For example, in income it is seen that exceed 4,000 euros per month in the family unit (it can be a couple). They make spectacular offers to them, with fixed offers at 2.60%,” explains Garriga.
For their part, the variables are decreasing among closed mortgages, with a residual weight, according to Trioteca. The market offers fixed rates from 2.80%, mixed with a rate lower than 2.65% initially and then Euribor 0.60%, such as Evo Banco, and variables from Euribor 0.49% (Kutxabank), detailed in HelpMyCash . It leaves them at more than 4% today. Thus, alternatives prevail. “The Euribor is still very high, so its price is high,” warns Riera.
