14 August 2026 · 3 min read · By Mercedes Muela Ripoll
Euríbor at 2024 highs: buying in Alicante
The twelve month Euríbor closed July 2026 with a monthly average of 2.855%, its highest level since September 2024, according to the official reference rates published by Spain’s central bank, the Banco de España, in the BOE (the official state gazette). It’s a sustained rise that directly raises the cost of financing for anyone thinking about buying a home in Alicante right now. And even if it isn’t obvious at first glance, it matters to sellers too.
What’s actually happened
The Euríbor has been climbing almost without interruption since the start of 2026: the monthly average went from 2.245% in January to 2.798% in June and 2.855% in July. That’s the highest monthly figure since September 2024, when it stood at 2.94%; from that month onward it fell steadily, hovering close to 2% through much of 2025.
August 2026 hasn’t closed yet as this article goes live. With the days elapsed so far this month, the provisional average is running above 2.9%, slightly higher than July, but that’s a partial figure that can still move in the remaining sessions before the month closes. The closing figure is the definitive one, and it’s what banks actually apply when reviewing mortgage payments.
What this means if you’re buying now
If your mortgage is, or will be, a variable rate one, the Euríbor is the index your bank uses to calculate the interest you pay: the reference month’s figure is added to the margin agreed in your contract, and that total is reviewed every six or twelve months, depending on what you signed. When the Euríbor rises, an existing variable rate mortgage’s payment rises at the next review; and if you haven’t signed yet, a higher Euríbor also raises the offer your bank makes you, whether you end up choosing a variable or a fixed rate mortgage, because lenders adjust their fixed rates based on where reference rates are heading.
For anyone looking to buy in Alicante right now, this has a direct effect on purchasing power: with the same monthly income, a higher Euríbor reduces the amount a bank is willing to lend, because the resulting payment still has to fit within the affordability limits set by mortgage lending rules. In practice, it’s worth simulating your mortgage using today’s Euríbor, not last year’s, and leaving room in your budget so a future upward review doesn’t squeeze your finances.
What this means if you’re selling
Even though this reads as a story about buyers, this rise matters to sellers too. Part of demand in Alicante depends on mortgage financing, so a higher Euríbor raises the cost of buying for that segment of buyers, and can lead them to lower the price they’re willing to offer, or extend their search until they find something within their new borrowing capacity. This doesn’t mean the market is about to stall (Alicante keeps setting new price per square metre records, and a meaningful share of demand in the province buys without relying on a Spanish mortgage at all), but it’s worth keeping in mind when setting your asking price: pricing it to today’s market, rather than to what you expected a year ago, is still the best way to sell within a reasonable timeframe. You can see how we work that out in how much a flat in Alicante is worth.
What you can do now
If you’re weighing up buying or selling in Alicante with this Euríbor rise in the background, at Muela Ripoll we can help you understand what this context means for your home search, or for your home’s asking price, and point you to a mortgage adviser if what you need is a review of your borrowing capacity. Get in touch with us and we’ll look at it together.