The number of homes sold in April, excluding social housing, rose by 16.8% compared to the same month last year, according to the latest figures from the National Institute of Statistics (INE).
The following chart shows how residential property transactions have risen every month this year, having fallen every month last year.
On a monthly basis, however, home sales fell by 9%, from 33,632 in March, to 30,659 in April. Sales have fallen in April in 3 out of the last 4 years, so the fall is likely due to seasonal factors.
Once again, resales were higher than new build sales, but only by a fraction. In a normal market resales should be significantly higher than resales. The problem today is financing. Banks are reluctant to lend money to people buying resale properties.
The following chart shows how sales break down between new builds and resales.
Once again, sales growth was not uniform around the country. Sales exploded by almost 90% in the Balearics, but fell 13% in Malaga province, home to the Costa del Sol.
Much of the market growth came from just a handful of regions (Balearics, Catalonia, Cantabria, and Madrid). It is possible that the figures are distorted by banks moving properties from one balance sheet to another.
adiep says:
I would guess this is a blip, probably induced by the transaction tax rises. Certainly were not looking at a housing recovery with Europe wide austerity on the horizon, Spanish growth looking like its turning back into decline and Spain being locked out of the interbank landing markets.
One wouldnt have thought the above would be conducive to bringing about a recovery in the housing market…
edallen says:
I have also wondered whether many of the transactions are technical sales.
There have been many possessions of properties by lenders against failed loans to developers.
Surely all of those transfers must be part of the sales figures that are being quoted as they are transferred into the banks ownership?
If so that could actually skew the figures considerably and the whole sales data would be far worse than is being suggested (if that is possible?)