It depends. Obviously, initially rates are pushed down by the expansion of credit. But eventually (one way or another) they’ll go back up. I went into this a bit here.
So it really depends on what the central bank does. I actually didn’t think about the fact that you’re talking about Europe. I’m not as familiar with the laws there, nor the specifics about the banking system and what the ECB is up to. Although, I do know it’s not far from the US situation. But there are important differences.
If this were the US, I’d tell you fixed rate is definitely the way to go because rates essentially have nowhere to go but up. They are at virtual all time lows. The Fed Funds Rate has been at 0% for over 3 years. Think about that. 0%. Sure the mortgage rates farther down the interest ladder have fluctuated a bit, but you haven’t seen rates like them in a long time, and they’re not going to get any lower (generally speaking). You lock in a 4% rate now, when real inflation is probably 9% or 10%…and just watch your debt inflate away as the value of the dollar falls precipitously in the coming years.
Again, I’m not as familiar with the European situation, but I’d wager the advice would be the same, for essentially the same reasons.
If you’re really interested, I’d call in to Peter Schiff’s radio show and ask him personally. He’d be able to tell you for sure.