Euribor 12 months, the interest rate predominantly used to calculate mortgage payments in Spain, rose 2% in May compared to the previous month, taking it up to 1.249%, the highest level it has been since last September. This is the first time since July 2008 that Euribor has risen for 2 consecutive months.

Despite rising for 2 months, Euribor is still not far above the record low of 1.215 it hit in March. It is still 24% lower than it was a year ago, and 77% lower than it was in July 2008. Because Euribor is still lower than it was a year ago, repayments on a typical annually resetting mortgage (120,000 Euros, 25 years, Euribor +0.8%) will fall to around €510/month, saving 24 Euros a month, or 288 Euros a year. If Euribor keeps rising, it won’t be long now before borrowers starting seeing their monthly payments increase, albeit modestly at first.

Euribor is an interbank lending rate based on interest rates set by the European Central Bank (ECB). Base rates are currently at 1% but the ECB is expected to put them up during the course of 2010. Even though base rates haven’t yet been touched, Euribor is starting to rise as banks get nervous about the state of the economy and lending to each other.

Story by Mark Stucklin

Tags: Euribor, Interest Rates
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Euribor (12 months), the interest rate normally used to calculate mortgage payments in Spain, rose 0.8% in April compared to the previous month, taking it back to 1.225% where it was in February. This is only the second time Euribor has risen on a monthly basis since September 2008.

Despite the rise in April, Euribor is still just a fraction above the record low it hit in March. It is still 31% lower than it was a year ago, and 77% lower than it was in July 2008. Because Euribor is still lower than it was a year ago, repayments on a typical annually resetting mortgage (120,000 Euros, 25 years, Euribor +0.8%) will fall by around 41 Euros a month, or 420 Euros a year.

Many experts think that Euribor has fallen as far as it can and expect rates to start rising modestly. It won’t be long now before borrowers starting seeing their monthly payments rise, albeit a small amount. Euribor is based on interest rates set by the European Central Bank. Base rates are currently at 1% but are expected to rise gradually during the course of 2010.

New mortgage lending rose 8.5% in February compared to the same month last year, according to figures from the National Institute of Statistics (INE). That is the second consecutive month of growth in mortgage lending, a good sign for the market. On a monthly basis there were 54,813 new mortgages signed in February, up 6.2% compared to January.

The average loan value was 118,185 Euros, a fall of 4.6% compared to last year. Overall new mortgage lending was 6.478 billion Euros, up 3.5% on last year. The average interest rate was 3.97, 26.5% below a year ago, and 2% lower than January.

Tags: Euribor, Interest Rates, Mortgage Lending
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According to Contithe overseas mortgage specialis, an increasing number of British investors buying second homes in Europe are taking out euro-denominated mortgages in order to beat the poor exchange rate. This not only allows them to take advantage of cheap interest rates, but could potentially save them significant sums of money if, as experts predict, sterling appreciates against the euro over the next few years, as this will reduce the sterling cost of the property purchase.

Clare Nessling, Conti’s Operations Director, says: “A euro mortgage could be a good idea, even if you thought you didn’t need one. As you’ll only need to transfer money for your deposit and fees for now, it minimises the amount of sterling you have to exchange for the property purchase. Even if you’re lucky enough to be a cash buyer, it may be worth taking out a mortgage until the exchange rate improves, at which point you can pay it back, and ultimately reduce the price you pay for the property.”

There are a number of other benefits associated with euro mortgages. If, for example, an investor is going to rent out their property, having a euro mortgage means that their rental income and mortgage repayments are in the same currency, and they can therefore avoid exchange rate fluctuations.

A euro mortgage also allows them to benefit from European interest rates, which are often lower than sterling rates. Even a small difference could potentially save them a lot over the lifetime of the mortgage. The fees on some euro loans can also be substantially lower than on some sterling mortgages.

Tags: Interest Rates, Mortgage Lending
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Euribor (12 months), the interest rate normally used to calculate mortgage payments in Spain, fell 0.8% in March compared to the previous month, finishing at 1.215%. Once again, Euribor is at the lowest level on record, down 36% in 12 months, and 77% down from its all time high of 5.393% in July 2008. Thanks to the latest reduction in Euribor, repayments on a typical annually resetting mortgage (120,000 Euros, 25 years, Euribor +0.8%) will fall by around 41 Euros a month, or 500 Euros a year.

When Euribor rose a fraction in December I suggested that, after 14 consecutive months of falls, a change of trend might be in the offing. Despite a return to declines in January, February, and March, that still probably holds true. Flipping around is often consistent with a period of change.

Most of the savings from the fall in Euribor have already been had, and Euribor is unlikely to go much lower. Next month borrowers on annually resetting mortgages will hardly notice any savings, even if Euribor goes a bit lower. Euribor is based on interest rates set by the European Central Bank. Base rates are expected to remain at 1% for the first quarter of 2010, rising gradually after that.

New mortgage approvals rose 2.3% to 53,747 in January compared to the same month last year, after an annualised fall of 1.3% in December, showing there is not yet a clear trend towards improvement. On a monthly basis, new mortgage lending was up 12.3% in January. The average mortgage value was 112,839 in January, 7.6% lower than January 2009. Overall new lending was down 5.5% to 6.064 billion Euros.

Story by Mark Stucklin

Tags: Euribor, Interest Rates
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Euribor (12 months), the interest rate normally used to calculate mortgage payments in Spain, fell 0.6% in February compared to the previous month. Euribor now stands at 1.225%, the lowest level on record. Euribor is 43% down over 12 months, and 77% down from its all time high of 5.393% in July 2008.

As a consequence of the latest reduction in Euribor, repayments on a typical annually resetting mortgage (150,000 euros, 25 years, Euribor +0.75%) will fall by around 65 Euros a month, or 780 euros a year.

When Euribor rose a fraction in December I suggested that, after 14 consecutive months of falls, a change of trend might be in the offing. Despite a return to declines in January and February, that still probably holds true. Flipping around is often consistent with a period of change.

Most of the savings from the fall in Euribor have already been had, and Euribor is unlikely to go much lower. By March borrowers on annually resetting mortgages will hardly notice any savings, even if Euribor goes a bit lower.

Euribor is based on interest rates set by the European Central Bank. Base rates are expected to remain at 1% for the first quarter of 2010, rising gradually after that.

Story by Mark Stucklin

Tags: Euribor, Interest Rates
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According to data released today by the National Statistics Institute (INE), the number of home mortgages issued during November 2009 was 52,043, representing a growth of 1.8 percent over the same month in 2008 and the first recorded rise since April 2007.

The volume of loan capital amounted to 6010.5 million, 10.1% less than the same month in 2008, which means that the average amount borrowed fell by 11.7% to 115,492 euros. Despite the rebound year in November, the cumulative comparison of January and November 2009 to the same period in 2008 showed an overall decrease of 23.2%.

Savings banks granted the most mortgages (52.2%), followed by banks (36.6%) and other financial institutions (10.9%). As for borrowed capital, savings banks granted 45.3% of the total, banks provided 43.0% and other financial institutions contributed 11.7%.

The average interest rate of savings banks was 4.25% and the average term was 23 years, while in banks, the average rate was 4.03% and the average term was 21 years. The variable interest mortgage remains the preferred option in 95.2% of mortgages, compared with only 4.8% opting for fixed rate. The Euribor was reported as the reference rate that was used in 88.7% of the mortgages.

The data also shows that in November, 40,156 mortgages had their conditions changed, 35.3 percent more than last year – 32,379 of these were changes in the conditions of a mortgage with the same institution (42.4% higher), mostly being attributed to mortgage payers taking advantage of lower interest rates and longer terms.

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Euribor (12 months), the interest rate normally used to calculate mortgage payments in Spain, fell 0.8% in January compared to the previous month. It now stands at 1.232%, the second lowest level on record.

Last month I reported that Euribor rose a fraction in December, suggesting that, after 14 consecutive months of falls, a change of trend might be in the offing. Despite a return to declines in January, that is still probably the case. Flipping around is often consistent with a period of change.

After January’s fall, Euribor is now 53% lower than it was a year ago. That means borrowers on annually resetting mortgages can expect some relief in their mortgage payments. As a consequence of the latest reduction in Euribor, repayments on a typical mortgage (150,000 Euros, 25 years, Euribor +0.75%) will fall by around 100 Euros a month, or 1,200 Euros a year.

Most of the savings from the fall in Euribor have already been had, and Euribor is unlikely to go much lower. By March borrowers on annually resetting mortgages will hardly notice any savings, even if Euribor goes a bit lower.

Story by Mark Stucklin

Tags: Euribor, Interest Rates
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Euribor 12 months, the interest rate normally used to calculate mortgage payments in Spain, rose 0.9% in December compared to the previous month, finishing the year at 1.242%. This was the first monthly rise in Euribor in 14 months, suggesting that a change in tendency is on the way. But despite the increase in December, Euribor is still 64% lower than it was 12 months ago. That means borrowers on annually resetting mortgages can expect some relief in their future mortgage payments. Euribor is based on interest rates set by the European Central Bank. Base rates are expected to remain at 1% for the first quarter of 2010, rising gradually after that.

The volume of new residential mortgages signed in October was 52,451, down 18% compared to the same month last year, and 16% compared to September, according to the latest figures from the INE. In value terms new residential mortgages were down 31% to 6 billion Euros. New mortgage signings in Spain have now fallen for 28 consecutive months, often by double digits. That illustrates the severity of Spain’s property crash, even if official figures disguise the extent to which property prices have fallen. The average new mortgage value also fell, by 15.8% to 113,882 Euros.

Story by Mark Stucklin

Tags: Euribor, Interest Rates
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Euribor 12 months, the interest rate normally used to calculate mortgage payments in Spain, fell 1 % in November to a new record low of 1.231 %. Euribor has now fallen for 14 consecutive months, and is 72 % lower than it was a year ago. As a consequence of the latest reduction in Euribor, repayments on a typical annually-resetting mortgage (140,000 euros, 25 years, Euribor + 0.5 %) will fall by around 240 Euros a month, or 2,800 euros a year.

Economic analysts expect Euribor to stay around current low levels in the months to come. Both Jean Claude Trichet, president of the ECB and Miguel Ángel Fernández Ordóñez, governor of the Bank of Spain, have said that current base rates are at the “appropriate level”.

The volume of new residential mortgages signed in September was 62,411, down 4.2 % compared to the same month last year. In value terms new residential mortgages were down 16 % to 7.3 billion euros.
The good news is the decline in new mortgage lending has been bottoming out in the last few months. It fell 31 % in June, 19 % in July, 7 % in August, and 4 % in September. If the trend continues new mortgage lending will soon be growing again year-on-year in volume terms. That will give some support to the housing market.

Story by Mark Stucklin

Tags: Euribor, Interest Rates
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Once a star performer in Europe’s 11-year old monetary union, Spain has become the wayward laggard. Growth data last week showed the Spanish economy – hit badly by a property market collapse and soaring unemployment – stuck firmly in recession in the third quarter, while the eurozone as a whole grew 0.4 per cent. The rollercoaster ride might suggest the European Central Bank would have difficulty calibrating policy steps to suit Spain and the other 15 eurozone countries.

During the economic crisis, Miguel Fernández Ordóñez, Spain’s central bank governor since 2006, has rarely given interviews. Talking to the Financial Times in the library of the bank’s plush Madrid headquarters, he strikes a distinctly cautious tone, but his messages are not so different from those of his colleagues in Frankfurt.

After the collapse of Lehman Brothers investment bank last year, the ECB cut its main interest rate farther and faster than ever before, to a record low of 1 per cent. He hints this monetary policy stance will remain for some time. “It is clear that any increase in [interest] rates is off the screen. The markets do not expect any change before the second half of next year,” he says.

He agrees, however, that with financial markets normalising, the ECB’s governing council should plan to remove emergency support, such as offers of unlimited liquidity for up to one year. “My reasoning is that those measures were exceptional because the markets did not work well. When the markets are working well, we should take them away because otherwise the markets will never work perfectly, ever. Support should be exceptional.”

Jean-Claude Trichet, the ECB’s president, indicated this month that the “exit strategy” would start in December, with the ending of one-year liquidity offers.

But is Spain ready for the start of such an ECB strategy, given its weak growth prospects? “Well, it’s ready for recovery,” Mr Fernández Ordóñez replies, “because recovery in Europe is the best news for Spain.” Some 70 per cent of Spain’s exports go to the eurozone, he points out. His biggest concern is that Spain pushes harder to bring public finances under control and increase labour market flexibility.

From one perspective, eurozone membership acts as a straitjacket in a downturn because devaluation is not an option. Worse, the euro is strengthening. Mr Fernández Ordóñez does not see things that way, however. “Of course you are right that we cannot devalue, and what does it mean? This means that we have to do more structural reforms so that you have the advantages [similar to those] of devaluing.”

As such, he is happy to see Spanish consumer prices falling faster than elsewhere. “Deflation in the euro area would be a disaster. But if you don’t have deflation in the euro area and we have a negative inflation differential in Spain compared with the rest of the eurozone, that would be the best thing. Reducing prices and regaining competitiveness is what we have to do.”

Story from FT.com

Tags: ECB, European economy, financial crisis, Interest Rates, Recovery, Spanish economy
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