This is a website for buyers, owners, and sellers of property in Spain, offering reliable information and resources to help you get things done with confidence. It is run by Mark Stücklin, author of the Spanish Property Doctor Column in The Sunday Times (2005-2008), and the book ‘Need to Know: Buying Property in Spain’ published by Collins.
The Spanish property market expanded 16 per cent in October compared to the same month last year, according to the latest figures from the National Institute of Statistics (INE). This provides another month’s evidence that the Spanish property market has touched bottom, as illustrated by the chart above.
Year to date, the Spanish property market is up 1 per cent over 10 months compared to the same period last year, and up 2 per cent compared to 2012.
On a monthly basis, sales fell 1 per cent from 24,096 in September, to 23,859 in October, excluding social housing. Sales tend to fall on a monthly basis towards the end of the year.
The INE’s figures come from the Property Register, reflecting sales completed over the previous two or three months. As such they echo the figures published by the Notaries a month earlier (see Spanish Property Market Recovery Continues in September), so the news of rising sales does not come as a surprise.
The following chart comparing the annualised change in sales each month illustrates the improvement in sales this year from March onwards, with increases every month except august. Last year sales fell every month except April.
Looking at sales broken down between resales and new properties (or better said, never previously sold properties), resales are surging, up 44 per cent in October, whilst new property sales are collapsing, down 19 per cent. The sales of new properties will continue to plunge as the inventory of marketable properties dries up.
By region (October, annualised), sales surged 51 per cent in the Canaries, and 69 per cent in Las Palmas, as the Canaries head towards their high season with a full wind in the sales of the property market. Sales were also up by double-digits in Madrid and Catalonia, in particular Barcelona.
By region (October, year-to-date) sales are up 16 per cent in the Costa de la Luz, 15 per cent in the Costa del Sol, 14 per cent in the Balearics, and 8 per cent in the Canaries, all markets driven by foreign buyers of second homes. These figures suggest 2014 has witnessed a full-throated recovery in these areas, driven by foreign demand.
These figures bode well for the property market in prime areas of Spanish cities and the coast in 2015.
Geffrey Ponder says:
I was in the Costa del Sol for 6 days last week, particularly Estepona, Marbella and Malaga.
Impression is that long time empty properties are selling fast, often to northern Europeans. Repossessed developments are selling 50 apartments over 6 months.
There is virtually no new construction for the time being, and almost no cranes to be seen anywhere.
The tide is definitely turning .. probably.
Incidentally, Vladamir Putin is said to have a 20 million Euro holiday house at a secure upmarket development there (two golf courses, stables, helipad, etc), and if it’s good enough for him .. it’s good enough for me!
Kravatt says:
”it is a highly end development, even Putin is building a villa nearby” – one hears it all over Spain, France or Italy.
This phrase has helped to sell many plots and houses.
For me it sounds also an understatement – 20 M euro house is not something very special and would not buy land and build a house to suit Putlers needs… it is way too cheap comparing to his 3 billion mansion in russia
Mark Stücklin says:
Putin spokesman dismisses Spanish villa reports as ‘joke’ https://au.news.yahoo.com/world/a/25947881/putin-spokesman-dismisses-spanish-villa-reports-as-joke/
Allan Saunderson says:
Good work at monitoring the Spanish housing market, Mark!
Always interested in reading your material, and PIE draws quite often on this for our reports to our wide global professional readership. Also very interested in Geofrey Ponder’s anecdotal observations.
Allan Saunderson, Managing Editor, Property Investor Europe, Frankfurt, Germany
Stephen says:
Yes Kravatt, just the usual rubbish we read about Spanish property. I think most people see through it, they have been flogging a dead horse for years.