Property sales in Spain fall 2%, new data reveals – but prices continue to climb steeply

The General Council of Notaries has reported that the number of property sales in Spain in May fell by 2% compared to a similar period last year, while prices rose 6.7%.

31 723 new mortgages were granted in May, representing an increase of 7.4% over the previous year.

Notaries had reported a slight slowdown in sales in April. They recorded a 1.3% rise, though Easter was a contributing factor.

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The report of the notaries contrasts starkly with recent data of the National Institute of Statistics(INE), which revealed that sales increased by nearly 40% during the best May for 18 years.

The average price per m2 stood at €1,836 in May, which represents an increase of 6.7% year-on-year.

Murcia (+37%) was the highest, followed by the Basque Country (+14.5%) and Cantabria (+14.3%).

Sales of single-family houses increased by 5.2%, or 15,345 units, compared to the previous year.

The prices of flats rose by 7.6% compared to the same month of the previous year, hitting €2,101 per m2, while the price of single-family homes averaged €1,371 euros- up 5.8%.

Four regions, Castilla la Mancha (+14.8%), Castilla y Leon (14.1%) and Aragon (4%) saw increases in the number of house sales.

The most significant falls occurred in La Rioja (-21.4%), Balearic Island (-12.0%), Extremadura (8.5%).

In Spain the price per square meter rose 6.7% on average, with 16 regions reporting an increase and only Navarre experiencing a decline (-15.7%).

Murcia (+37%) had the largest increase in prices, followed by Basque Country (+14.5%), Cantabria +14.3% and Canary Islands (+13.8%).

Mortgage loans grew by 7.4% year-on-year in Spain, to 31,723 operations, with an average amount that rose by 11% year-on-year, reaching €171,212 on average.

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