Spanish home sales inscribed in the Land Registry were up by 21% in November, as the recovery into its fourth year gathered pace.

There were 36,974 Spanish home sales inscribed in the Land Register in November, and 40,579 if you include homes subsidised by the Government, known as VPO.

Compared to the same month last year, Spanish home sales were up by 21% (excluding VPO, 27% including), all according to the latest figures from the National Institute of Statistics (INE).

Bear in mind these figures are based on sales inscribed in the Land Register, not sales completed in the month. Sales are inscribed a few months after completion, so these figures lag the market by a few months. Figures from the Association of Spanish Notaries for actual sales in November were up 10.1% (and average national house prices down 0.9%).

New and resale property transactions

New home and resale home transactions were up 29% and 18% respectively, showing that the recover is now firing on both pistons, having relied almost exclusively on resales between the start of the recovery in 2013 and May this year. New home sales have now grown for seven consecutive months, making clear the recovery in demand for new developments in Spain.

Spanish Home Sales by Region – November 2017

Looking at the evolution of sales by region, 2017 has been a good year for most areas of interest to foreign buyers and investors.

Of the big Coastal markets, the Costa del Sol’s Malaga province has done the best so far this year, up 31%, followed by the Costa Blanca’s Alicante province, up 28%. After going soft in September and October Barcelona was back to strong growth in November, suggesting the impact of the Catalana constitutional crisis has been limited so far. Even the Costa del Azahar’s Castellón province, where the crisis has lasted much longer, is finally having a good year, with sales up 51%, albeit from a much reduced base.

All in all these latest figures show the recovery gathering pace well into its fourth year, with no sign of a slow down as new home sales start to play a bigger role in the recovery, and the market shrugs off the political crisis in Catalonia.