Though Spanish home sales declined by 11pc in 2023 compared to the 2022 boom it was still the best year for more than a decade when compared to the years before the pandemic distorted the market.

There were 640,000 Spanish homes sold in 2023, down 11.3pc compared to the year before, according to the latest data published by the Spanish notaries’ association. Yearly sales and the annualised percentage change are illustrated in the chart above.

The notaries’ figures published on Thursday also show the annualised change in sales in December and Q4, which were down 5.2pc and 4.8pc respectively. It was the third-best Q4 in terms of sales volume in the last 16 years. 

Looking at regions of most interest to foreign buyers, sales fell the most in the Balearics (-20pc), followed by the Canaries (-16.8pc) and Madrid (-16.2pc). Then came Andalusia (-12.5pc), Catalonia (-12.8pc), the Valencian region (-7.8pc), and Murcia (-5.5pc).

The figures show that, for the country as a whole, last year’s sales only look disappointing compared to the boom that followed in the wake of the pandemic. Compared to any other year before the pandemic, 2023 was an excellent year for the Spanish housing market.