According to the influential Spanish daily newspaper, El Mundo, the impossible has happened; after several years of mortgage requests falling on deaf ears, a number of Spanish banks seem to be loosening their purse strings in readiness to resume lending.
Information provided by the Instituto Nacional de Estadística. (National Statistics Institute) show that over the 6 year period between 2006 to 2012, new mortgage approvals dropped from 1.34 million to a mere 254,000.
However, for the first time in 12 months, the banks are offering lenders mortgages with a spread rate below 2 per cent – around 50 per cent lower than last year - and fixed rates of below 4 per cent.
In February 2013, Bankinter announced an extremely favourable variable rate of Eurobor + 1.95pc and Cajasur followed suit with an even better offer at Eurobor + 1.25pc. Then in January 2014 Santander threw their hat into the ring with a similar offer, which is seen as a clear indication of their intention to start lending again, which is the first step to recovery in the property market. Yet a note of caution is advised. The banks may be willing to lend again but only to low risk clients.
Siesta Real Estate based in Marbella can provide up to date information about investing in Spanish property and can put you in touch with a network of preferred mortgage advisors with experience of the Spanish property market. For more information or to request a call back, visit the website at www.siesta-realestate.com.
