Home sales in April were the lowest they have been since 2017 as the Spanish property market continues to cool down after the post-pandemic boom, reveal the latest figures from the Spanish notaries’ association.
There were 49,639 home sales in April, down 18% on the same month last year, and the lowest level for April in six years, as illustrated by the chart above showing sales every April going back to 2013.
However, although April sales were the lowest they have been since 2017, it’s also true that they were not far below the figures for 2018 and 2019; so although the market is cooling down, there is no sign yet of any serious decline in sales that would set alarm bells ringing.
The next chart shows the annualised monthly change in sales going back to the beginning of 2021 and illustrates the initial big rebound at the start of 2021 followed by strong growth through to the end of 2022, when sales growth finally turned negative.
If you look at the 12-month rolling total, which smooths out the ups and downs of each month, you get a clear picture of how Covid-19 boosted demand for Spanish housing from around the second-half of 2021, but the downward trend in both the sales total and year-on-year figures is now clear.
Regional picture
The market shrank in all regions of interest to foreign investors in April, though some markets contracted faster than others. The biggest fall in sales took place in Madrid and the Canaries (-29%), followed by the Balearics down 24%, as illustrated in the next chart.
Spanish house prices in April 2023
Nationally, house prices rose by 1% in April, having stayed in a narrow band without much movement up or down since the start of the year, in contrast to a long period of substantial increases over most of the last two years, illustrated in the final chart.
On a regional basis, prices went from an increase of 1% in the Balearics to +9% in the Valencian region, and +13% in the Canaries.
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