Spanish mortgage approvals fall

Mortgages issued in Spain plummeted to their lowest level on record in July, according to the country's National Statistics Institute.

Bloomberg reported that the number of finance packages offered to homeowners during the month dropped by 47 per cent compared to the same time in 2010, while the total amount of capital borrowed also declined by 48.3 per cent.

Meanwhile, the news provider pointed out that there are more than 700,000 properties in Spain that remain unsold, while defaults on existing mortgages are currently high.

Figures published by the National Statistics Institute earlier this month revealed that sales of residential real estate were 34.8 per cent lower in July than a year earlier, while a monthly drop of 8.6 per cent was also noted.

The majority of sales that took place over this period were in urban areas, the organisation added.

However, buyers may be encouraged by an incentive to purchase new-build properties, with the government cutting value-added tax on such dwellings by half until the end of this year.
 

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