Fixed-rate mortgages account for 56% of the total, but show a declining trend
The average loan interest rate is 3.26%
The rise in interest rates takes its toll on the mortgage market. The number of mortgages established on homes fell by 30% in Girona and by 31.8% in Catalonia in September compared to the same month last year, according to provisional data from the Statistics on Mortgages INE. In the regions of Girona, 592 mortgages were established, with an average subscribed capital of 142,025.3 euros.
The drop in mortgages is very similar to the whole of Spain, where it has accumulated seven consecutive months of double-digit declines, as a result of the rise in interest rates charged for these loans.
The September data confirms the downward trend in the weight of fixed-rate mortgages, which accounted for 56.2% of the total, the lowest percentage since March 2021, while 43.8% went refer to a variable interest rate (which includes mixed mortgages, those that combine a fixed period with another variable). Fixed-rate mortgages reached their ceiling, with 75.2% of the total of new ones signed in July 2022, from which point they began to lose steam. That's when variable and especially mixed ones began to regain ground, in which during a period a fixed quota is maintained and the rest, variable.
The increase in the price of money is noticeable in the data, as the average interest applied by institutions to new mortgages on homes rose to its highest level since January 2016, 3.26%, more than one percentage point above a year before, according to data published by the National Institute of Statistics (INE) and the average term is 24 years.
On the other hand, the Association of Real Estate Agents of Catalonia (AIC) and the Official College of Real Estate Agents of Barcelona (COAPI) published yesterday a report on the real estate market which states that the sale of 'homes in Catalonia fell by 19.9% between June and September this year compared to the same period in 2022
As detailed by the Association of Real Estate Agents (API), the average house price in Catalonia was 2,430 euros per square meter in the third quarter, which represents a year-on-year increase of 1.6% .
Barcelona is the most expensive Catalan province to buy a home, with 2,784 euros per square meter on average, followed by Girona, with 2,221 euros, Tarragona, 1,594 euros, and Lleida, 1,333 euros per square meter.
The province of Barcelona brings together 62.6% of all home sales registered in Catalonia in the third quarter of the year, although with a year-on-year decrease of 22.6%.
After Barcelona, Tarragona concentrates 17.1% of operations, with a reduction of 14% of operations; Girona concentrates 14.7%, with 21.1% less sales; Lleida, which registers 5.6% of sales, has increased the purchase of homes by 4.1% in one year.