The Spanish property market continues to cool down after a post-pandemic boom in 2022 but there is no sign yet of a crash in sales, as shown by the latest housing market figures from the Spanish notaries’ association.

There were 58,880 home sales witnessed by Spanish notaries in May, down 8% on last year, and the seventh consecutive month of sales, as shown in the chart above.

However, if you compare sales to previous years looking just at the month of May there is no sign of a crash, just a return to normal business after a boom that followed in the wake of the Covid-19 disaster. Sales this May were lower than 2021 and 2022, but higher than the normal years of 2018 and 2019, as illustrated in the next chart.

Looking at the 12-month rolling sales total, which smooths out the ups and downs of each month and gives a better picture of the underlying trend (next chart), you can clearly see the end of the boom and downward trend that looks like it will be with us for a while.

All regions of interest to foreign investors have been following a similar downward curve with modest variations, Sales fell the most in the Balearcis (-19%) followed by Madrid (-17%), Catalonia, Andalusia and the Canaries (-12%), and the Valencian region (-10%). Sales in Murcia bucked the trend with a 1% increase.

The national average house price increased by 1% in May, according to the notaries, suggesting the boom in prices has also come to an end (final chart). By region, prices increase the most in the Balearics (+17%), followed by Murcia (+9%), Andalusia (+7%), Valencia (+5%), Catalonia (+4%), and Madrid (+2%).

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