House prices and transaction volumes fell heavily in September, according to the latest figures from the General Council of Notaries.

No sign of any letup in Spain’s grinding real estate crash. Transactions fell 9.2pc to 20,701 home sales in the month (chart above).

Average house prices fell an annualised 14.7pc in September, ending the month at 1,162 €/m2 (next chart).

Price €/m2 index

New mortgage approvals for home buyers fell 17.4pc to 6,321, meaning that just 30.5pc of buyers used a mortgage (next chart).

Mortgage approvals (annualised scale left, index scale right)

“There are still no clear signs of an end to the housing market adjustment,” say the notaries. I wouldn’t argue with that, but I do have anecdotal evidence to suggest that some market segments are at a turning point.

To end on a positive note, the number of new business stated in September rose 5.4pc to 6,947, report the notaries.