Spanish property sales, not including social housing, were down 26% in June compared to the same month last year, according to the latest figures from the National Institute of Statistics (INE).

Despite the fact that the market has lost a quarter of its size since this time last year, when it was already on the skids, most of the reports in the Spanish press are trying to look on the bright side by arguing that the figures show the market has bottomed out.

How so? Well, compared to May, when transactions fell by an annualised 33%, June doesn’t look too bad in comparison. And, on a monthly basis, sales in June were 4% up on May, at 31,841, the highest monthly level of sales since January this year.

On a cumulative basis, sales are down 36% this year compared to the first 6 months of last year. In the Balearics they are down by as much as 48%.

Resale property still main casualty

Sales of formerly occupied properties (resales) were down the most in June, by 33% Y.O.Y. to 16,445, compared to a drop of 18% to 18,927 for newly built properties sold by developers.

On a monthly basis, resales were exactly the same as last month, whilst new builds rose by 8% from May to June.

The rebound in new builds deserves special attention, as some experts have been expecting a collapse in new build sales to show up in the figures sooner or later, to reflect the fall in new sales contracts signed by developers. As it happens June was the best month for new build sales in all the second quarter.

And thanks to the rebound in new build sales, the differential between new build and resales has widened again, as is clear from the following chart.

Sales declines by region

By region, sales declined the most in Cadiz province (-65%), home to the Costa de la Luz, followed by The Balearics (-40%), and Teruel (-39%). Sales held up best in Almeria (+41%), and Galicia (+2%).

The following table gives sales declines for selected regions.