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.
Spanish home sales inscribed in the Land Registry increased by 17% in August 2017, according to the latest figures from the National Institute of Statistics (INE).
There were 37,412 home sales inscribed in the Land Register in August (excluding subsidised home sales), and 41,282 if you include homes subsidised by the Government, known as VPO. Compared to the same month last year, Spanish home sales were up by 17%.
So, another month of double digit growth in sales, maintaining a trend that started back in the spring of 2014 when property ales turned around after seven years of declines. Sales have increased almost every month since March 2014, and sales were the highest in August that they have been since 2007, at the peak of the boom.
Bear in mind that the INE’s figures are based on sales inscribed in the Land Register, which typically takes place one or two months after sale, so these figures lag the market by a few months.
New and resale property transactions
Home sales in August were divided between first-time sales / new homes with a market share of 18% (7,396) and resales with a market share of 82% (33,886). Sales of both new and resale homes increase in August, with new home sales up 21% – the highest monthly increase in seven years. The relentless decline in new home sales has come to an end as the property market recovers.
Spanish Home Sales by Region – August 2017
The following chart shows how sales changed have changed year-to-date in selected regions of most interest to foreign buyers, owners, vendors, and investors. Sales are up in almost all those regions, with the exception of the small markets of Teruel and Almeria. Growth has been particularly strong in the Catalan provinces of Tarragona (Costa Dorada) and Girona (Costa Brava), and sales in Barcelona are also above the national average of 15%. The overall picture is one of steadily improving sales figures and market recovery, but it remains to be seen if the regional government of Catalonia’s attempt in October to break away from Spain hits confidence and home sales in the region. We will have to wait until the end of the year for these figures to reveal anything on that subject to us.
