Mortgage alarm, the variable rate can cost up to 4,200 euros more

Mortgages are expensive and the ECB shows no sign of letting go by raising the cost of borrowing to contain inflation that is out of control, but is currently slightly declining. For a variable-rate loan today, it costs up to +4,236 euros per year compared to 2021, while those who take out a fixed-rate loan today find themselves spending up to +3,240 euros per year compared to those who started it two years ago. This was stated by Codacons, which has carried out some simulations on the most requested types of mortgages in Italy, comparing the best offers on the market. And he warns: “it will be a boulder”. In September 2021 – the consumers’ association verified – before the trail of increases launched by the ECB, for a 150,000 euro variable rate mortgage with a duration of 30 years, the best Taeg on the market was 0.48% with one installment monthly equal to 442 euros, while the fixed rate recorded a Taeg of 1.04% and a monthly installment of 481 euros. Today, for the same type of loan, the best offer on the market provides for a Taeg of 3.62% and a monthly installment of 663 euros on the variable; for the fixed rate Taeg 3.17% and monthly installments of 631 euros, with an increase in spending of respectively +221 euros and +150 euros per month on 2021.

For a 100,000 euro mortgage with a duration of 25 years, in September 2021 the Taeg on the variable rate was 0.42% with a monthly installment of 346 euro, while the fixed rate recorded a Taeg of 0.98% and an installment from 370 euros. Today, for the same mortgage, the Taeg starts from a minimum of 3.62% on the variable, 3.24% on the fixed, with a higher monthly payment of +145 and +104 euros respectively compared to two years ago. It is worse for those who have taken out (or decide to take out today) a 200,000 euro mortgage with a duration of 20 years: here for the variable rate the Taeg goes from 0.39% and a monthly payment of 858 euros in September 2021 to 4 .19% today (best offer on the market) and a monthly installment of 1,211 euros, with an increase in spending from +353 euros per installment.

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For the fixed rate, we go from a Taeg of 0.86% and a monthly payment of 903 euros to a rate of 3.81%, and a monthly payment of 1,173 euros (+270 euros per installment). The rise in interest rates – this is the analysis by Codacons – leads a family that has taken out a variable rate mortgage to face greater expenditure today up to +4,236 euros per year compared to what was paid in 2021, while those who decide today to take out a fixed-rate mortgage, considering the types of financing examined, spends between +1,250 and +3,240 euros, depending on the type of mortgage, compared to those who took out the same loan in 2021 The bad news, however, is not finished.

In fact, the ECB has announced new rate hikes as a form of contrast to inflation: this means that in the coming months the costs of mortgages are destined to rise further, with a double consequence on consumers. Anyone planning to buy a house by taking out a loan will in all likelihood postpone the operation, waiting for rates to fall again, with direct effects on the real estate market. Those who, on the other hand, already have access to a variable rate mortgage, could face difficulties in paying the monthly installments, the impact of which on family budgets will be increasingly heavy in the coming months.