- The ECB raised its deposit facility rate by 0.25 percentage points each in June and September 2026, to 2.50 percent. On 29 October it left it unchanged.
- The 3-month Euribor rose from 2.01 percent in February to 2.63 percent in October (monthly averages).
- On a variable loan of 300,000 euros over 30 years, that means about 105 euros more per month.
- Since the September hike the Euribor has moved sideways. The next rate decision is on 17 December.
1. What the ECB decided
The deposit facility rate is the key rate that money markets in the euro area take their cue from. It had been at 2.00 percent since June 2025. The ECB raised it to 2.25 percent with effect from 17 June 2026 and to 2.50 percent with effect from 16 September. On 29 October the Governing Council left all three key rates unchanged. In its statement it names rising energy prices as a risk to inflation and notes that financing conditions have tightened since its previous meeting.
2. What reaches your loan
A mortgage does not follow the key rate directly. Variable loans are tied to a reference rate, usually a Euribor (the rate at which euro-area banks lend to each other), plus a margin fixed in the contract. Austrian law calls it the Referenzzinssatz (reference rate), a word you will meet again in section 5. The 3-month Euribor followed the hikes: its monthly average was 2.01 percent in February, 2.34 in June, 2.64 in September and 2.63 percent in October. That is 0.62 percentage points more than in February.
For new loans, the ECB's interest rate statistics for Austria point the same way, in smaller steps. New mortgages to households cost 3.63 percent on average in September 2026, against 3.43 percent in February. For new variable loans, with the rate fixed for up to one year, the rate rose from 3.35 to 3.73 percent. With the rate fixed for more than ten years it rose from 3.54 to 3.67 percent. In September a new fixed-rate loan was therefore slightly cheaper on average than a variable one. New variable loans rose by less than the Euribor, which may reflect bank margins or the mix of loans. The statistics do not show this in detail. They cover all of Austria, with no separate figures for Vienna.
3. What it means for your monthly payment
Assumptions: a loan of 300,000 euros, a 30-year term, equal monthly payments, no fees. The amount is a round example, not an average Vienna price. In the fourth row we assume that a variable loan taken out in February at 3.35 percent passes on the full Euribor rise of 0.62 percentage points and the bank's margin stays the same. We ignore the few months already repaid. The fifth row is a scenario, not a forecast.
| Interest rate (%) | What the rate stands for | Monthly payment (€) | More per month than row 1 (€) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3.35 | New variable loan, Austrian average, February 2026 | 1,322.14 | Baseline |
| 3.67 | New loan fixed for more than 10 years, average September 2026 | 1,375.76 | 53.62 |
| 3.73 | New variable loan, average September 2026 | 1,385.94 | 63.80 |
| 3.97 | February variable loan after the Euribor rise to October | 1,427.06 | 104.92 |
| 4.22 | Scenario: the Euribor rises by another 0.25 percentage points | 1,470.56 | 148.42 |
Since February the Euribor has risen by just over 0.6 percentage points. On a variable loan of 300,000 euros over 30 years, that is about 105 euros more per month, around 1,260 euros a year. If you fixed your rate in February, your payment stays the same. If you borrow now, September averages put you 54 euros (fixed for over ten years) to 64 euros (variable) a month above the variable rate of February. You can run your own amount and rate in the mortgage calculator.
4. Turning point or sideways?
Nobody can say reliably whether rates will keep rising, the ECB included. In its own words it decides meeting by meeting and does not commit to a rate path. The account of its meeting on 9 and 10 September sets two expectations side by side: financial markets expected further hikes and a peak deposit rate above 3 percent, while surveys of analysts saw the rate staying at 2.50 percent after the September hike. Since then the Euribor has indeed moved sideways, at 2.64 percent in September and 2.63 percent in October. The next rate decision is on 17 December 2026.
5. What your bank must tell you
Mortgages to consumers fall under the Hypothekar- und Immobilienkreditgesetz (Mortgage and Real Estate Credit Act, HIKrG). Section 17 (1) HIKrG sets out what must happen when the rate changes. In the German original: „Bevor eine Änderung des Sollzinssatzes wirksam wird, hat der Kreditgeber den Verbraucher auf Papier oder einem anderen dauerhaften Datenträger über den angepassten Sollzinssatz, die angepasste Höhe der Teilzahlungen sowie über allfällige Änderungen in der Anzahl oder der Fälligkeit der Teilzahlungen zu informieren.“ In plain English: before a new rate takes effect, the lender must tell you, on paper or another durable medium, the new rate, the new payment and any change in the number or due dates of payments. An increase only takes effect against you once you have received this information.
If the rate follows a publicly available reference rate such as the Euribor, the contract may set a different date under paragraph 2. The bank must then inform you at regular intervals and tell you the level of the reference rate. Under paragraph 3 the payment is adjusted so that the loan is repaid within the originally agreed term, unless you individually negotiated something else. This is general information about the law, not legal advice on your contract.
6. What to look at in practice
- Find three details in your loan contract: the reference rate (for example the 3- or 6-month Euribor), the bank's margin and the date on which the rate is adjusted.
- Compare your bank's last rate notice with the current Euribor. Under section 17 HIKrG the notice must state the new rate and the new payment.
- Also work out your payment at a rate half a percentage point above today's, and check that your household budget can carry it.
- If you plan a new loan, ask for offers with a fixed and with a variable rate. In September new loans fixed for more than ten years were cheaper on average than variable ones, at 3.67 against 3.73 percent.
- Before refinancing or switching to a fixed rate, ask about all costs, not just the interest rate.
Sources
- ECB: monetary policy decisions of 29 Oct 2026, key rates unchanged, deposit facility rate 2.50% (press release, accessed 7 Nov 2026)
- ECB Data Portal: deposit facility rate, dates of change 2024 to 2026 (accessed 7 Nov 2026)
- ECB: account of the meeting of 9 and 10 Sep 2026, market and analyst expectations (published 8 Oct 2026, accessed 7 Nov 2026)
- ECB: Governing Council meeting calendar, next rate decision 17 Dec 2026 (accessed 7 Nov 2026)
- ECB Data Portal: 3-month Euribor, monthly averages to October 2026 (accessed 7 Nov 2026)
- ECB Data Portal: rate on new mortgages to households in Austria, total, to September 2026 (accessed 7 Nov 2026)
- ECB Data Portal: the same, rate fixed for up to 1 year (accessed 7 Nov 2026)
- ECB Data Portal: the same, rate fixed for more than 10 years (accessed 7 Nov 2026)
- RIS: section 17 HIKrG, change of the borrowing rate and account statement, version of 7 Nov 2026 (in German)
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