Fotocasa fears mortgage lending rise with the upcoming regulatory changes

This article was written and published in Spanish and has been translated into English via Google Translate. Click here to read the original article.

Fotocasa's study director, Beatriz Toribo, fears an increase in mortgage lending in the face of a possible rise in interest rates and regulatory changes in the sector. "We could see an increase in mortgage lending in the event of a rate hike, but above all due to the new real estate loan law scheduled for March," he said.

Even so, Toribo added that "the Spanish mortgage market is very competitive and the rivalry between the entities could soften that possible increase." As for the Euríbor, he emphasized that "it is directed to leave negative registers contributing to the increase of the mortgages."

On the other hand, the real estate portals pisos.com and idealista agree that they must keep an eye on the evolution of the market before the new mortgage law.

According to the director of studies of pisos.com, Ferran Font, although the market has surpassed the 300,000 granted mortgages, "they are still underneath and the rate of growth is inferior to last month." As for the interest rate and the Euribor, he added that "they depend on the decisions taken by the ECB this year, which, for the moment, does not foresee any upward changes unless the economy shows a better performance than forecasts of growth."

Font points out that "it still does not see clear effects on the mortgage concession after the controversy over the payment of mortgage expenses produced in November."

The head of idealist studies, Fernando Encinar, agrees with Ferran Font that the growth registered in November still does not reflect the impact of the Supreme Court ruling, so he considers that "the types that are being signed mortgages are still in line with the previous situation."

Regarding the new mortgage law, for the spokesman of the Spanish Banking Association (AEB), José Luis Martínez, "it is fundamental that the changes that are being proposed in the new mortgage credit law do not prevent the mortgage market from complying with its mission to finance the purchase of housing to the greatest number of people in the best possible conditions."

This article was written and published in Spanish and has been translated into English via Google Translate. Click here to read the original article.

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