The annual average interest rate on new residential loans in Spain continued to rise in 2023, after increasing in for the first time in 2022 following a decade long period of year-on-year decrease. In 2023, the average mortgage rate was 3.75 percent, up from 1.49 percent in 2021.

The average mortgage interest rate in Spain followed a downward trend for almost a decade before increasing dramatically in 2022. In 2024, new housing loans had an average interest rate of *** percent — about double the interest rate in 2020. Mortgages with a five- to 10-year term had a slightly lower interest rate, making them the most affordable option. Why did mortgage rates spike? Macroeconomic factors, such as inflation, economic growth, and fiscal policy, play a major role in determining the cost of a loan. Inflation in Europe started rising in late 2021, largely due to surging energy costs. In Spain, the annual change of the consumer price index peaked at almost ** percent in July 2023. The European Central Bank has responded by introducing a series of hikes on the key interest rates (main refinancing operations, marginal lending facility, and deposit facility), which have affected lending rates across the European Union. How has the housing market reacted to the interest rate hike? The housing market follows a certain seasonality, with more home sales in the second and fourth quarters of the year. This was also the case in 2022, but the last quarter of the year saw an annual decline. Though compared to previous years, the number of transactions was one of the highest, the annual decrease shows a potential downturn.

Key information about Spain Long Term Interest Rate

• Spain Long Term Interest Rate: Month Avg: Spain: ECB Harmonised was reported at 3.10 % pa in Feb 2025, compared with 3.17 % pa in the previous month.
• Spain Long Term Interest Rate data is updated monthly, available from Nov 1991 to Feb 2025.
• The data reached an all-time high of 13.00 % pa in Oct 1992 and a record low of 0.04 % pa in Dec 2020.
• Long Term Interest Rate is reported by reported by CEIC Data.

• In the latest reports, Spain Short Term Interest Rate: Month End: EURIBOR: 3 Months was reported at -0.57 % pa in Nov 2021.
• The cash rate (Policy Rate: Month End: Main Refinancing Operations) was set at 2.90 % pa in Feb 2025.
• Spain Exchange Rate against USD averaged 0.92 (USD/EUR) in Jun 2023.

Mortgage interest rates in Spain soared in 2022, after falling below *** percent at the end of 2021. In the fourth quarter of 2024, the average weighted interest rate stood at **** percent. That was lower than the rate in the same period the previous year. Despite the increase, Spain had a considerably lower mortgage interest rate than many other European countries. The aftermath of the property bubble Before the bursting of the real estate bubble, the housing market experienced a period of intense activity. A context marked by economic growth, high employment rate, low interest rates, skyrocketing house prices and land speculation, among others, encourage massive lending for the acquisition of property; in 2005 alone, more than *** million home mortgages were granted in Spain. When the bubble burst and the financial crisis hit the country, residential real estate transactions plummeted and households’ non-performing loans jumped to nearly ** billion euros as countless families were not able to cope with their debts. Over a decade after the onset of the crisis, and despite falling mortgage rates, the volume of mortgage loans keeps decreasing every year. A homeowner country Traditionally, Spain has been a country of homeowners; in 2021, the homeownership rate was roughly ** percent. While nearly half of Spanish households own their property with no outstanding payment, the percentage of households that have loan or mortgage pending has been decreasing in recent years. Despite ownership remaining as the preferred tenure option, cultural changes, job insecurity and mounting house prices are prompting Spaniards to opt more and more to become tenants instead of owners, as shown in the changing dynamics of the Spanish residential rental market.

Spain - Severe housing deprivation rate: Owner, with mortgage or loan was 2.30% in December of 2023, according to the EUROSTAT. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for Spain - Severe housing deprivation rate: Owner, with mortgage or loan - last updated from the EUROSTAT on October of 2025. Historically, Spain - Severe housing deprivation rate: Owner, with mortgage or loan reached a record high of 2.30% in December of 2023 and a record low of 0.30% in December of 2017.

Mortgage rates in the Netherlands increased sharply in 2022 and 2023, after declining gradually between 2008 and 2021. In December 2021, the average interest rate for new mortgage loans stood at **** percent, and by the end of 2023, it had risen to **** percent. In May 2025, mortgage rates decreased slightly, falling to **** percent on average. Mortgages with a 10-year fixed rate were the most affordable, at **** percent. Are mortgage rates in the Netherlands different from those in other European countries? When comparing this ranking to data that covers multiple European countries, the Netherlands’ mortgage rate was similar to the rates found in Spain, the United Kingdom, and Sweden. It was, however, a lot lower than the rates in Eastern Europe. Hungary and Romania, for example, had some of the highest mortgage rates. For more information on the European mortgage market and how much the countries differ from each other, please visit this dedicated research page. How big is the mortgage market in the Netherlands? The Netherlands has overall seen an increase in the number of mortgage loans sold and is regarded as one of the countries with the highest mortgage debt in Europe. The reason behind this is that Dutch homeowners were able to for many years to deduct interest paid from pre-tax income (a system known in the Netherlands as hypotheekrenteaftrek). Total mortgage debt of Dutch households has been increasing year-on-year since 2013.

The number of residential mortgages constituted in Spain has slowly increased year-on-year since 2013, but as of 2023, it remained shy from the levels before the market crash. In 2024, about ******* mortgages were constituted, up from about ******* in 2013. Among the drivers of the recovery were the record-low mortgage rates during that period.

Companies operating in the third-party real estate industry have had to navigate numerous economic headwinds in recent years, notably rising interest rates, spiralling inflation and muted economic growth. Revenue is projected to sink at a compound annual rate of 0.6% over the five years through 2025, including an estimated jump of 1.2% in 2025 to €207.6 billion, while the average industry profit margin is forecast to reach 35.1%. Amid spiralling inflation, central banks across Europe ratcheted up interest rates, resulting in borrowing costs skyrocketing over the two years through 2023. In residential markets, elevated mortgage rates combined with tightening credit conditions eventually ate into demand, inciting a drop in house prices. Rental markets performed well when house prices were elevated (2021-2023), being the cheaper alternative for cash-strapped buyers. However, even lessors felt the pinch of rising mortgage rates, forcing them to hoist rent prices to cover costs and pricing out potential buyers. This led to a slowdown in rental markets in 2023, weighing on revenue growth. However, this has started to turn around in 2025 as interest rates have been falling across Europe in the two years through 2025, reducing borrowing costs for buyers and boosting property transactions. This has helped revenue to rebound slightly in 2025 as estate agents earn commission from property transactions. Revenue is forecast to swell at a compound annual rate of 3.7% over the five years through 2030 to €249.5 billion. Housing prices are recovering in 2025 as fixed-rate mortgages begin to drop and economic uncertainty subsides, aiding revenue growth in the short term. Over the coming years, PropTech—technology-driven innovations designed to improve and streamline the real estate industry—will force estate agents to adapt, shaking up the traditional real estate sector. A notable application of PropTech is the use of AI and data analytics to predict a home’s future value and speed up the process of retrofitting properties to become more sustainable.

In 2024, the average mortgage rates in European countries varied from *** percent in Bulgaria to over nine percent in Hungary. The mortgage rate for a home purchase is decided depending on the individual situation of the homebuyer, their credit history, and income, but they also follow macro determinants including the base lending rate, inflation, economic growth, and the health of the housing market. Starts, completions and prices The supply of new housing varies in different countries in Europe. In 2023, the number of new housing units completed per 1,000 citizens was between *** and seven, with this number varying greatly in different countries. Ireland and Poland were among the countries with most completed housing units. When it comes to housing starts, Ireland tops the ranking. The average transaction price of a new dwelling in 2023 ranged anywhere from roughly ***** euros per square meter to under ***** euros per square meter. Housing stock As the most populous country in Europe, Germany has the largest housing stock. Comparing the number of housing units per 1,000 citizens is an easy way to identify housing shortages. In Greece and the UK, for example, the number of dwellings per 1,000 citizens measured less than ***, compared to Bulgaria and Spain, where it was around ***.

Spain, France, and Italy were the countries with the highest value of non-performing mortgage loans at amortized cost in the second quarter of 2023. In Spain, the gross carrying amount of non-performing mortgages to households totaled about 21.7 billion euros, while in France, this figure amounted to approximately 11.7 billion euros. When it comes to the share of non-performing mortgages, Cyprus, Greece and Hungary topped the ranking.

Companies operating in the third-party real estate industry have had to navigate numerous economic headwinds in recent years, notably rising interest rates, spiralling inflation and muted economic growth. Revenue is projected to sink at a compound annual rate of 0.6% over the five years through 2025, including an estimated jump of 1.2% in 2025 to €207.6 billion, while the average industry profit margin is forecast to reach 35.1%. Amid spiralling inflation, central banks across Europe ratcheted up interest rates, resulting in borrowing costs skyrocketing over the two years through 2023. In residential markets, elevated mortgage rates combined with tightening credit conditions eventually ate into demand, inciting a drop in house prices. Rental markets performed well when house prices were elevated (2021-2023), being the cheaper alternative for cash-strapped buyers. However, even lessors felt the pinch of rising mortgage rates, forcing them to hoist rent prices to cover costs and pricing out potential buyers. This led to a slowdown in rental markets in 2023, weighing on revenue growth. However, this has started to turn around in 2025 as interest rates have been falling across Europe in the two years through 2025, reducing borrowing costs for buyers and boosting property transactions. This has helped revenue to rebound slightly in 2025 as estate agents earn commission from property transactions. Revenue is forecast to swell at a compound annual rate of 3.7% over the five years through 2030 to €249.5 billion. Housing prices are recovering in 2025 as fixed-rate mortgages begin to drop and economic uncertainty subsides, aiding revenue growth in the short term. Over the coming years, PropTech—technology-driven innovations designed to improve and streamline the real estate industry—will force estate agents to adapt, shaking up the traditional real estate sector. A notable application of PropTech is the use of AI and data analytics to predict a home’s future value and speed up the process of retrofitting properties to become more sustainable.

The average mortgage interest rate decreased in nearly every country in Europe between 2012 and 2021, followed by an increase in response to inflation. In the fourth quarter of 2024, Poland, Hungary, and Romania topped the ranking as the countries with the highest mortgage interest rates in Europe. Conversely, Belgium, Spain, and Italy displayed the lowest interest rates. The UK, which is the country with the largest value of mortgages outstanding, had an interest rate of 4.54 percent.

Greece, Cyprus, and Hungary were the countries with the highest share of non-performing mortgage loans in the second quarter of 2023. In Greece, 8.6 percent of the gross carrying amount of mortgage loans to households was considered non-performing. In Spain, which was the country with the highest value of non-performing mortgages, this share was 2.6 percent.

The United Kingdom, Germany, and France were the countries with the largest mortgage markets in Europe in 2024, when considering the value of loans outstanding. In the fourth quarter of the year, the UK had nearly *** billion euros worth of mortgages outstanding. Other countries with large mortgage markets included the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, and Italy - all exceeding *** billion euros. One of the main drivers of mortgage activity is the cost of borrowing. In 2022, interest rates increased dramatically across Europe. Ireland, and Germany remained among the few countries with an average interest rate under four percent.

House prices in the UK rose dramatically during the coronavirus pandemic, with growth slowing down in 2022 and turning negative in 2023. The year-on-year annual house price change peaked at 14 percent in July 2022. In April 2025, house prices increased by 3.5 percent. As of late 2024, the average house price was close to 290,000 British pounds. Correction in housing prices: a European phenomenon The trend of a growing residential real estate market was not exclusive to the UK during the pandemic. Likewise, many European countries experienced falling prices in 2023. When comparing residential property RHPI (price index in real terms, e.g. corrected for inflation), countries such as Germany, France, Italy, and Spain also saw prices decline. Sweden, one of the countries with the fastest growing residential markets, saw one of the largest declines in prices. How has demand for UK housing changed since the outbreak of the coronavirus? The easing of the lockdown was followed by a dramatic increase in home sales. In November 2020, the number of mortgage approvals reached an all-time high of over 107,000. One of the reasons for the housing boom were the low mortgage rates, allowing home buyers to take out a loan with an interest rate as low as 2.5 percent. That changed as the Bank of England started to raise the base lending rate, resulting in higher borrowing costs and a decline in homebuyer sentiment.