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Mortgage numbers rise as credit outlook lifts

The Local Spain
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Mortgage numbers rise as credit outlook lifts
Photo of villa in Spain: Shutterstock

The number of new home mortgages in Spain was up 2 percent on a year ealier in March, the first such rise in 47 months, official figures released on Wednesday show.

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Spaniards signed off on 16,625 new mortgages in March, up from 16,420 in February, with the average loan being €102,397 ($139,000), the preliminary figures from Spain's national statistics body show.

The total value of all loans was €1.7 billion.

March's rise was the first year-on-year bump since 2010, putting an end to nearly four years of negative values.

News of the rise also came on the same day that the Spain's central bank (BOE) said banks were starting to loosen the reins on credit to consumers.

There was a "certain improvement in the expectations concerning the economy and the solvency of consumers", said the bank its May monthly bulletin.

Credit in Spain has plummeted by 23 percent since the country's housing bubble burst in 2008.

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