Madrid, Nov 27 (IANS): The number of home mortgages in Spain fell by 30.9 percent in September compared with the same month in 2012, the National Institute of Statistics (INE) reported Tuesday.

The INE said that the number of home mortgages fell to 14,856 in the ninth month of the year, one of the lowest figures since 2003, reported Xinhua.

According to the INE, the average value of home mortgages reached 97,298 Euros ($131,976), 5.5 percent down on September 2012 figure, while the amount of capital loaned decreased by 34.7 percent in annual terms to a total of 1.445 billion Euros.

Meanwhile, on a monthly basis the number of mortgages granted to prospective buyers increased by 22.3 percent from August when the number of mortgages had reached 12,147.

In this case, the amount of capital loaned rose by 24.3 percent from August to September, the highest increase since 2010, said the INE.

The INE reported that home mortgages decreased by 28.1 percent from January to September when compared with the same period of 2012. The amount of capital loaned fell by 31.5 percent while the average value of home mortgages fell by 4.7 percent.

A total of 23,685 rustic and urban mortgages, which includes home mortgages, were granted in September, said the INE, which meant a 35.2 percent fall on the same month in 2012.

Spain's real estate market has been seriously affected by the economic crisis in the country since the property bubble burst in 2008.

September was the 41st consecutive month of decline in the number of mortgages, a trend very difficult to stop as unemployment is very high in Spain and many workers have seen their salaries reduced.

Media reported Monday that the number of workers in Spain's public administration fell by 3.4 percent in annual terms to a total of 2,547,720 workers.

Spain suffers an unemployment rate of over 26 percent with more than four million people looking for a job.

(1 euro equals $1.36).