The rise in interest rates, which is pushing up the Euribor, is having a direct impact on the good health of the mortgage market. In fact, it is causing a drop in the number of new mortgages in practically all the Spanish autonomies. They only advanced in the Principality of Asturias, where they grew by 0.8% compared to the figures for the same month in 2022. In Spain as a whole, the number of mortgages decreased by 15.6%.
In terms of import, the decreases are also in the majority and, in fact, exactly the same pattern is reproduced: falls in all the autonomous communities, with the sole exception of Asturias, in which the joint import of mortgages increased by 1, 8% compared to mortgages signed in March 2022. In the Spanish total, the contraction is 17% in twelve months.
Strong falls in the Balearic Islands and Madrid
In contrast to the slight increase in the number of mortgages in Asturias, the falls registered by other autonomies in March were several. The most pronounced, in interannual rate, would be registered in the Balearic Islands, where the figures fell by 31%. Mortgage reductions are also very relevant in the Community of Madrid, with a withdrawal of 23.7% in the interannual rate, or in Castilla La Mancha, where the decrease is 23.7%. The three, in addition, are the communities in which the new imported mortgages are reduced the most.
The financial sector already recognized during the presentation of first quarter results that the activity of the mortgage market was being affected by the new interest rate scenario, which was making the cost of taking out a mortgage more expensive.
