The number of homes sold in Spain in May rose 5.4 per cent in May from a year earlier, with the Balearics, Comunidad Foral de Navarra and Cantabria reporting the largest increases.
The National Statistics Institute (INE) reported 28,124 homes were sold in May, a 12.6 per cent increase from April. The number of rustic properties sold in May was 7.1 per cent higher than a year earlier, the INE reports.
The total number of property transfers, which includes everything from donations to inheritances, was down 4.5 per cent from a year earlier.
But the dwellings numbers are the most closely watched statistic, as the industry looks for signs that home sales are recovering. The May data showed new home sales were down 8 per cent from a year earlier, while used home sales were up 16 per cent.
The biggest annual increases in May were in the Balearics (33.1 per cent), Comunidad Foral de Navarra (32.9 per cent) and Cantabria (30.4 per cent). Andalucia sales were up 10.7 per cent and Catalonia was up 3.1 per cent. The biggest decreases were reported in Castilla-La Mancha (–15.2 [per cent), Galicia (–6.0 per cent) and Comunidad de Madrid (–5.5 per cent).
Meanwhile, data released this week from the EU’s statistics office, Eurostat, showed Spain’s prices performing better than many markets in Europe. Prices in Spain fell by 0.3 percent in the quarter, the slowest decline in years, the bureau reported. Prices were down 1.7 per cent from a year earlier, compared to markets such as Croatia, where prices were down 9.7 per cent in the last year and Slovenia, where prices were down 6.6 per cent.
The biggest gains were in in Estonia (up 17.5 per cent in the last year), Latvia (10.4 per cent) and the United Kingdom (8 per cent). Overall, house prices were up 1 per cent in the first quarter compared to a year earlier, Eurostat reports.
The EuroStat numbers:
SPI Member Comments
Facebook Comments