Your Spanish Mortgage Just Got Dearer — and the New Build You Wanted Costs More Too
Euribor climbed past 3.3% after the ECB's September rise. In the same four weeks, 24 new-build developments in Legado's portfolio raised their entire price list. For a buyer who waits, the price moved faster than the rate.
Buying a home on the Costa Blanca got more expensive twice this September. On 10 September the European Central Bank raised interest rates, and by 18 September the 12-month Euribor — the index behind most Spanish mortgages — stood at 3.343%. In the same four weeks, 24 new-build developments in Legado Inmobiliaria's portfolio raised their entire price list, by a median of 3.9%. For a buyer who waits, the price rise now costs more than the rate rise.
Helen had the spreadsheet open on the kitchen table in Leeds. Two columns. On the left, the flat in Calpe she and her husband had been following since spring. On the right, the Spanish mortgage they would need to buy it. In August she had decided to wait for rates to settle. By the third week of September, both columns had moved. In the same direction.
Two numbers, one direction
The first number came from Frankfurt. The ECB raised its three key rates by 0.25 points, taking the deposit facility to 2.50% from 16 September. The bank said the conflict in the Middle East "continues to generate inflation pressures" and projected inflation of 3.0% for 2026.
Euribor had already started to climb. The 12-month rate was 2.727% on 1 July and 2.939% on 3 August. It reached 3.374% on 16 September and closed the week of 18 September at 3.343%.
The second number came from Spain's statistics office. Housing prices in the second quarter were 12.2% higher than a year earlier, according to the INE. In the Valencian Community, which includes the whole Costa Blanca, the rise was 13.0%. New-build homes rose 7.4% nationally.
What 0.4 points actually costs
Non-resident buyers in Spain can usually borrow up to 60% of the purchase price. On a €300,000 home, that is a €180,000 loan. Over 20 years, the move in Euribor between early August and mid-September adds roughly €38 to €40 to the monthly repayment. About €460 a year.
That hurts. It is also the smaller of the two numbers.
According to Legado Inmobiliaria's weekly price tracking across the 489 new-build developments it monitors on the Costa Blanca, 56 raised their entry price between 24 August and 21 September. In 24 of them, the whole price list moved — the cheapest and the most expensive homes alike — by a median of 3.9%. On a €300,000 home, 3.9% is around €11,600.
Put the two side by side. If Euribor stayed where it is today for the entire 20-year life of that loan, the extra interest would come to around €9,200 to €9,500. One price revision, in four weeks, cost more.
"Buyers are watching the wrong number," says Pedro Torres, CEO of Legado Inmobiliaria, an agency that works for non-resident buyers on the Costa Blanca. "Rates go up and down over the life of a mortgage. The price of a new build goes one way, and it is fixed the day you sign."
Ready for step one?
Prices are set by the developer and rise as construction progresses — today's price is the lowest.
Why the rate today is not your rate
Much of the new build on the Costa Blanca is sold off-plan. The buyer reserves, signs a private purchase contract and pays in stages during construction. The mortgage is only signed at the notary, on completion. Of the developments Legado tracks, 205 are due to complete in 2027 or later.
So for those buyers, the Euribor that sets the first repayment is the one on completion day, not the one of this September. Nobody knows that number. The price, on the other hand, is locked in the contract — and that number is known today.
For British buyers there is a third column, the pound. The Bank of England held rates at 3.75% on 17 September, with three of its nine members voting for a rise. Currency moves can add or remove thousands from the euro price, which is why the timing and method of the transfer matter as much as the rate.
What the data does not say
It does not say that every home on the Costa Blanca is going up this month. Most developments in the portfolio, 422 of 489, kept their entry price unchanged. Some rises come from the cheapest unit selling out rather than a new price list. And no one can promise where Euribor goes next: the ECB itself says it will decide meeting by meeting.
What it does say is simpler. Waiting for rates is a bet on a number that will be fixed years from now. Waiting on price is a bet against the direction most revisions took this month: 56 developments raised their entry price, 11 lowered it.
Helen closed the spreadsheet on a Sunday evening. She did not decide anything that night. She did one thing differently: she stopped asking the bank what the rate would be, and asked what the flat in Calpe would cost in October.
Sources: European Central Bank (monetary policy decision, 10 September 2026); INE, Housing Price Index Q2 2026 (7 September 2026); 12-month Euribor daily fixings as published by euribor-rates.eu; Bank of England (17 September 2026); Legado Inmobiliaria weekly price tracking, 24 August – 21 September 2026. Repayment figures are illustrative: a €180,000 loan over 20 years at Euribor plus a spread of 0.8–1.5 points. For how non-resident mortgages work in practice, see our guide to Spanish mortgages for non-residents; for the wider market, the Costa Blanca market report for Q2 2026; for how off-plan payments are staged, the off-plan payment schedule; and for why prices here keep rising, our analysis of a decade of price growth.
Written and verified by Pedro Torres Martínez, registered agent RAICV 6440.
Frequently asked questions
How much has Euribor risen in 2026?
The 12-month Euribor was 2.727% on 1 July and 2.939% on 3 August. It reached 3.374% on 16 September and stood at 3.343% on 18 September, after the ECB raised its key rates by 0.25 points on 10 September.
How much more will a Spanish mortgage cost after the September rate rise?
For a non-resident borrowing 60% of a €300,000 home, a €180,000 loan over 20 years, the rise in Euribor between early August and mid-September adds roughly €38 to €40 a month, about €460 a year. The exact figure depends on the bank's spread.
Are new-build prices on the Costa Blanca still rising?
INE put Valencian Community housing prices 13.0% higher year on year in the second quarter of 2026, with new builds up 7.4% nationally. In Legado Inmobiliaria's tracking of 489 developments, 56 raised their entry price between 24 August and 21 September and 11 lowered it; 24 raised their whole price list, by a median of 3.9%.
If I buy off-plan now, which Euribor applies to my mortgage?
The one on completion day. Off-plan buyers pay in stages during construction and sign the mortgage at the notary when the home is finished, so that is the rate that sets the first repayment. The purchase price, by contrast, is fixed in the contract when you sign.
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