Spain's home mortgages falls by 41.7% in August

The number of mortgages granted to prospective home buyers in Spain plummeted by 41.7 percent in August year on year, the National Institute of Statistics (INE) reported on Monday. The INE reported that the number of home mortgages fell to 12,147 in August, the lowest such figure since 2003. The average value of home mortgages stood at 95,702 euros (131,974 U.S. dollars), down 8.2 percent year on year, while the amount of capital loaned fell by 46.5 percent in annual terms to 1.162 billion euros, a 15.8 percent down on July's figure. Meanwhile, home mortgages decreased by 27.8 percent in the first eight months of the year when compared with the same period of 2012. August marked the 40th consecutive month of decline, thanks to the lingering economic crisis and a property bubble that burst in 2008. New fiscal measures implemented by the Spanish government since January have not helped boost Spain's mortgages market, as sales tax increased from 4 percent to 10 percent and deduction for acquisition of a primary residence ended in 2013, further discouraging consumers.