Mortgage and housing loans in 2022 showed a robust rebound, rising 10.9% year on year to 463,614 loans, according to the latest release from the National Institute of Statistics. This marked the highest annual total since 2010, when housing credit reached 607,535 loans, underscoring a notable recovery in the housing finance market across the year.
The renewed strength in 2022 followed two years of promotions and aid measures. After a 6.5% drop in 2020—the year the pandemic began—lending activity steadied and then expanded in 2021, setting the stage for the 2022 uptick. The 2022 increase, while impressive, moderated from the much larger 23.8% surge observed in 2021, reflecting a shift from double-digit growth to a more moderated pace as the market started to normalize in the post-pandemic environment.
Within the year, the average amount borrowed for residential mortgages rose by 5.8%, pushing the total loaned capital beyond 67.46 billion euros. The mean loan size climbed to 145,510 euros, indicating that households not only increased the number of mortgage commitments but also drew somewhat larger financing packages on average in 2022.
Regional patterns show that autonomous communities with the highest mortgage activity in 2022 were Andalusia (91,287), Catalonia (80,767), and Madrid (80,416). Across all regions, 2022 represented more mortgage signing than 2021, with Navarra as the lone exception where volumes fell by 4.6%. The strongest regional gains were recorded in Rioja (+28.5%), the Balearic Islands (+23.6%), and the Canary Islands (+23.1%), while Cantabria (+2.8%) and Extremadura (+4.8%) posted the smallest increases among the major regions.
December alone saw 30,075 housing loans signed, a figure 8.8% lower than December 2021. This monthly decline contributed to the broader trend of cooling after a prolonged period of growth, ending 21 consecutive months of year-on-year increases. Borrowed capital for December slipped 9.2% year over year to over 4.326 billion euros, and the average loan amount eased by 0.4% to 143,854 euros, reflecting a temporary step back in lending activity as monthly dynamics shifted.
On a month-to-month basis, December 2022 compared with November saw a marked slowdown: residential mortgages fell by 23.5%, the largest monthly drop since 2018. Borrowed capital declined by 25.5% in the same interval, also the steepest decline since 2018, signaling a seasonal adjustment or end-of-year pause in new mortgage originations.
Looking at the terms, the overall picture for December 2022 shows the average interest rate on total mortgage loans hovering around 2.83% with an average maturity near 23 years. Specifically for residences, the average rate stood at 2.67%, up from 2.54% the year before, with the average duration stretching to roughly 24 years. About two-thirds of new housing loans carried fixed-rate terms, with 65.5% signed at flat rates and 34.5% at variable rates, a split that reflects borrower risk preferences and lender product offerings during that period.
In sum, the year highlighted a steady reacceleration in housing credit activity after a challenging 2020, a resilient recovery through 2021, and a continuing, though tempered, expansion in 2022. The data illustrate a housing finance market that is recovering its footing, with regional variations and a tendency toward larger loan sizes, longer maturities, and a notable share of fixed-rate products among new mortgages.