Euribor (12 months), the interest rate generally used to calculate mortgage repayments in Spain, rose to 2.086 in April, a change of +8.4% compared to the previous month, and the first time Euribor has been above 2% since February 2009.

On an annualised basis, Euribor is 70.3% higher than it was a year ago (see graph above), meaning higher monthly repayments for borrowers with mortgages resetting now.

Repayments for a typical mortgage (150,000 Euros, 25 years, Euribor +0.25) will go up by around 64 Euros per month, or 775 Euros per year. That will punish many a stretched household budget in Spain.

Where will rates go from here? Upwards, most likely. The chart above, from property portal Idealisa.com, plots interest rates over the last 20 years. As you can see, we are in a period of exceptionally low interest rates (that are probably incubating the next crisis).

Story by Mark Stucklin

Tags: Euribor, Interest Rates, Mortgage Lending
Posted in Financial & Mortgages | No Comments »