Spain is the paradise of variable rate mortgages. The number of contracts signed here with banks is higher than that established in countries such as Germany, France, Italy or Great Britain. Not because the Spaniards demand it more, but because that is how they were induced. The point is that, according to the Bank of Spain, three quarters of mortgage holders have variable contractsso the amount to be paid for the purchase of their homes changes every year, and in some cases even every six months. The rise in the Euribor (last year it was 0.46% and now above 2.5%), Together with an inflation that is around two digits, they mean that the low salaries of thousands of people are not enough to pay the costs of their first home.
A drama staged the other day in «Public Mirror» for a woman who counted about 476 euros for her apartment is going to pay almost 700, on a salary of a thousand. If, in addition, the electricity bill has gone above one hundred euros, and you have to deal with heating, community and water, what you have left to live on is nothing.
We don’t know if this is an extreme case or if there are many other similar situations, but the article published this past week by «The Financial Times» under the title «The wolf is coming: homeowners in Spain on the brink of the abyss»seems to give a very clear idea of the size of the problem that lies ahead for those who subscribed to variable mortgages linked to the Euribor.