Sixty per cent of Spaniards find it "hard or very hard" to take out a mortgage, according to the Unión de Créditos Inmobiliarios (UCI), a joint venture between Banco Santander and BNP Paribas. This figure comes from a financial literacy analysis conducted for Financial Literacy Day, celebrated on 7 October.
Specifically, six in ten Spaniards consider the mortgage process hard (44.9%) or very hard (16.5%). Buyers in Navarre (75%) face the most challenges, followed by those in Murcia (75%) and the Community of Madrid (70.8%).
In contrast, all respondents in La Rioja (100%) find it easy to take out a mortgage, followed by those in Asturias (57.1%), Cantabria (50%) and Extremadura (50%).
Expert advice
According to UCI's commercial director, Lorena Zenklussen, these results highlight the importance of expert guidance during the mortgage process.
"While the 2019 Law Regulating Real Estate Credit Contracts strengthened transparency and gave notaries a key role, feeling supported is crucial," Zenklussen explained. "This is not only due to the weight of the decision but also the complexity of the process, which involves financial and legal terms that can be hard to grasp. Choosing the right solution for individual needs is vital, as is understanding the long-term impact on household finances, which typically spans 20 years."
On the other hand, nearly seven in ten buyers (67.7%) claim to be familiar with the requirements and procedures for applying for a mortgage, while 25.3% admit they do not know the steps involved. Navarre (50%), the Basque Country (45.5%), and Galicia (41.5%) have the highest levels of lack of knowledge by region.
UCI's director of sustainability, Càtia Alves, noted that the latest PISA report, which assesses students' financial knowledge and decision-making skills, shows a decline in Spanish students' financial literacy.
"Promoting financial literacy from an early age is essential," Alves emphasised, "as it helps citizens make better decisions throughout their lives, so important choices like taking out a mortgage aren't seen as overly complex."
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