Italy has the most expensive mortgages in Europe. This was revealed by Anse. Badly hit by the current crisis, builders also point the finger against the high cost of mortgages , which could constitute an obstacle in the recovery of the housing market in Italy.
The accusations towards the banks that, compared to other countries in the EU, end up paying more for funding the purchase of a house. To demonstrate Anse took as a reference the EBC base rates on mortgages for households and hypothesized a request for mortgage in Italy and the Euro zone of around € 150 thousand (over a 25 year period). Then it checked the sums: the result is that the same mortgage in Italy costs € 9 thousand more. This figure if the mortgage was signed in September, because in August the figure came up to 17 thousand Euros more. But counting only September, “it is as if the Italian families should pay for twelve months longer than those in Europe,” said Anse in its report “The credit in the construction sector in Italy.”
Behaviour which, according to the construction Association, is very unjustified because to date “the risk of Italian families has remained very low, in contrast to what happened in many European countries, characterized by a strong personal debt.” One aspect that has not escaped the ABI, in the last report in December shows that “the impact of the sufferings of debtors family contains 1, 5% of total funding.”
Under accusation, according to the Italian construction Association, should be placed the interest rate differential between Europe and Italy: while in the European in September, the average rates on mortgages were at 3.74%, in Italy the average was 4.1%, with a difference of 0.36%. A margin in September, Anse admitted it was reduced after the peak in August (0.69%), but that’s hard to disappear. There is a “resistance to the decline in rates compared to the IRS 10 years (the base rate of indexation),” writes the association, points out that the same Bank of Italy in the annual report, has reported the highest level of rates.
What’s more, it continues Anse, Italians do not only pay more hefty instalments, but they are often “forced” to take risks which they would rather avoid. “The rates required by most families – the builders write – are the fixed and variable capped (which has a roof that blocks the increases)”. The banks, accuse Anse, continue to sell more than half of their mortgages as variable ones.” And since “the rate expectations are rising, it has long been expressed doubts about this behaviour that undermines the strength of the market.”
Source: http://www.repubblica.it/economia/2011/01/03/news/mutui_cari-10800163/