Mortgages to buy housing grew 18.5% in 2016

The mortgage market in 2016 has not been alien to the recovery in the Spanish real estate sector. The number of mortgage loans granted for the purchase of housing grew by 18.5% and the average amount requested was 131,187 euros, 3.3% more than the amount provided in 2015, according to data from the General Council of Notaries. In addition, mortgage-backed purchases increased to 44.5%, which means that there is still a significant percentage of purchases that are paid without mortgage loans. In cases where there have been mortgages, the percentage of housing financed was 77.2%, below that 80% that financial institutions have as a ceiling to finance a home.

The Spanish real estate market has consolidated the growth path observed since 2014 and for the first months of 2017 no surprises are expected. According to notaries, the purchase and sale of housing registered a 13.5% year-on-year expansion in 2016 (14.8% in seasonally adjusted terms). This increase is divided between sales of flats (13.3%) and single-family homes (14.3%). The sale of used houses returned to play the main part of the transactions. Sales of second-hand flats showed an expansion of 16.1%, compared to the contraction experienced by the sale of new flats with 7.6%.

And if the sale of houses grows, so does the price. The cost of the square meter of homes sold in the year was 1,309 euros, which represents an increase of 2.4% year-on-year, affecting both the floors (2.9% year-on-year) and single- 0% year-on-year). Among the floors, the second-hand square meter stood at 1,431 euros (3.5% year-on-year) and new flats at 1,827 euros (4.9% year-on-year).

Source: El País