Such a high interest rate has not been recorded on loans to purchase a home since December 2014

The number of mortgages established on homes fell by 10.3% last January compared to the same month in 2023, totaling 33,128 loans, with an average interest rate that shot up to levels unknown in almost a decade.

Specifically, this stood at 3.46%, compared to 3.32% in December, thus reaching its highest value since the end of 2014, when it was 3.50%, according to data released this Tuesday by the Institute National Statistics Office (INE).

With the year-on-year decrease in January, the home mortgage firm has had twelve months of negative rates, although the rate in January has been less pronounced than that recorded in the last month of last year (-17%).

The average amount of mortgages constituted on homes fell by 2.7% year-on-year in the first month of the year, to 138,149 euros, while the capital lent decreased by 12.7%, to 4,576.5 million euros.

Following the interest rate policy carried out by the European Central Bank (ECB) to try to contain inflation and the evolution of the Euribor, the average interest rate was 3.46% for mortgages constituted on homes, with a term average 24 years old.

Compared to a year before, the average interest rate for home loans has increased by eight tenths. It is the tenth consecutive month in which the interest rate exceeds 3%.

41.8% of mortgages were established in January at a variable rate and 58.2% at a fixed rate. The average interest rate at the beginning was 3.24% for variable rate home mortgages and 3.64% for fixed rate mortgages.

In a month-on-month rate (January 2024 over December 2023), home mortgages rose by 32.9%, while loaned capital increased by 30.7%.

MADRID AND ANDALUSIA, THOSE WHO SIGN THE MOST HOUSING MORTGAGES

By autonomous community, those that registered the highest number of mortgages established on homes in January of this year were Madrid (6,167), Andalusia (6,062) and Catalonia (5,927).

Fourteen communities signed fewer mortgages on homes last January than in the same month of 2023, highlighting the decreases in Asturias (-30.6%), Navarra (-22.6%), Cantabria (-20.6%) and Andalusia (-20.5%).

The only year-on-year increases occurred in Madrid (13.2%), Galicia (9%) and Aragón (5.9%).

THE TOTAL MORTGAGED PROPERTIES REDUCED BY 11%

According to data from the statistical agency, the number of mortgages on rural and urban properties (the latter include homes) fell by 11.1% in January compared to the same month in 2023, to a total of 42,478 loans.

The capital of mortgage loans granted decreased by 11.3% in the first month of the year, to 6,975.8 million euros, while the average amount of mortgages constituted on the total number of properties contracted by 0.2 % and totaled 164,222 euros.

MORTGAGES THAT CHANGE CONDITIONS LOWER

Last January, a total of 11,788 mortgages changed their conditions, a figure 5.8% lower than that of the same month in 2023.

Taking into account the type of change in conditions, there were 9,052 novations (or modifications produced with the same financial institution), with an annual decrease of 12.2%.

The number of operations that changed entity (subrogations to the creditor) was 2,307, 34.4% more than in January 2023. For its part, in 429 mortgages the owner of the mortgaged asset changed (subrogations to the debtor), 12 .1% less than a year before.

Of the 11,788 mortgages with changes in their conditions, 48.9% are due to changes in interest rates.