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 number of home sales inscribed in the Property Register in April rose by 9 per cent in April year-on-year, according to the latest data from the National Institute of Statistics (INE).
Excluding social housing (around 10 per cent of the overall market), there were 24,090 home sales registered in April, the highest monthly sales figure in April for four years.
The red line in the chart above illustrates that the Spanish property market is no longer shrinking, though there are still no signs of a significant recovery in sales at a national level either.
Other than a modest return to growth in sales, the most noteworthy trend, once again, is the collapsing sales of new (never-previously-sold) homes, as the pipeline of new homes in Spain runs dry.
It is reasonable to assume the Spanish property market would be growing more if there was a good selection of new developments for sale in areas of demand. This will not be resolved until developers can get financing again.
REGIONAL RESULTS
By region, using a selection most relevant to foreign buyers, sales increased the most in Seville province, followed by Málaga, home to the Costa del Sol. At the other end of the scale were Cantabria and Teruel, with big declines in sales. It’s surprising that sales were down in the Canary Islands, where foreign demand has kept the market buoyant in recent years.
But looking at the year-to-date figures compared to the same period last year, for all types of property (new and resale), sales in the Canaries are still growing thanks to a big increase in resales. Year-to-date, property sales have increased the most in Barcelona and Catalonia in general, Followed by Asturias and Las Palmas (Canaries). At the other end of the scale sales are down the most in Cantabria, Almeria, and Castellon, home to the Costa Azahar.
Finally, a table summarising monthly sales published by the NIE for the last nine years.
FIRST QUARTER SALES FIGURES FROM HOUSING DEPARTMENT
This week the Housing Department in the Ministry of Public Works (Fomento) also published its figures for home sales in the first quarter of the year. In this case sales were were up 4.4 per cent to 85,133 (including social housing).
mario15 says:
Hello, first of all congratulations on the web, I found that contains a complementary view to the studies I’m developing. In my blog I focus on domestic demand, particularly in the city of Madrid. It is a fact that as the market in tourist areas shows clear signs of recovery, but in large metropolitan areas, where still remains the effect of the economic crisis, housing prices are still falling and the volume of purchases is still very low to consider a change in the trend of housing prices.
Mark Stücklin says:
HI Mario, that’s interesting. Big funds are piling into Madrid on the assumption it’ll take off. I can also see first hand that domestic demand is recovering in prime Barcelona, where foreign buyers are also driving the market. And some say this is all just a false dawn as far as domestic demand goes. What is your website address – I’d like to read your blog.
mario15 says:
Hi Mark,
Here you have my website address: precioviviendamadrid .com
I hope you find it interesting