Marta Pérez Amigot, Economic and Financial Analysis Unit of Ibercaja| The Bank of Spain published a report last week in which it warned of a stranglehold between supply and demand in the housing market, which means that property prices are resisting a fall despite the decline in activity. Two main ideas may be drawn from it: 1) After the initial impact of the pandemic, the demand for home ownership has…
The Bank of Spain has confirmed that the Euribor rate, the reference index for most Spanish mortgages, ended January at an average -0.253%, compared to -0.263% in December, representing its fifth consecutive monthly rise. Despite this rebound, the market assumes the index will remain in negative territory at least until 2022,given that the European Central Bank is likely to maintain its expansive policy.
This completes six months of the index on a downward trend and more than three years negative.
The new Housing Credit Law, better known as the Mortgage Law, came into effect in Spain this week. The new legislation has been delayed more than three years and stirred various controversies. Spain is thus the last European country to transpose Brussels’ directive.
BancaMarch | The amount of mortgages conceded in March rose +23.2% yoy, which implies a slowdown compared to the +31.2% registered in February.
“Never again Spaniards will have to pay the mortgage stamp duty”. With these words the Spanish president Pedro Sánchez announced a decree law and gave a new twist to the story of who should be responsible for this tax, just a few hours after the Supreme Court decided that it will be the customer’s duty. The way in which the highest court has managed the decision making process puts into question its credibility.
Spain’s banking sector lost € 5.560 Bn in market capitalisation yesterday after the country’s Supreme Court decided they woud have to pay mortgages taxes and not the final client. Just 24 hours after, the Court announced they will review the decision. Morgan Stanley calculates that the effect of ruling could reach 12 billion euros.
The new upward cycle in the property sector seems to be consolidating. Positive proof of that is the fact that housing prices have been increasing for the last two years.
J.L. M. Campuzano (Spanish Banking Association) | The Spanish banks have made a big effort over the last few years to provide solutions for more than a million households experiencing difficulties in meeting their mortgages repayments. We estimate that over 10% of current existing mortgages have been refinanced or restructured.
J.L.M. Campuzano (Spanish Banking Association) Data on the Spanish property market reveals the same trend as over the last few months: a moderate recovery in prices, at the same time as sales continue (adjusted for the 2016/2017 calendar difference with respect to Holy Week)