House purchases and sales rose 6.9% in Spain in September to 57,333 transactions. This is the highest figure in the housing market for the month of September since 2007. At that time, there were more than 61,700 purchases and sales, according to Spain’s National Institute of Statistics (INE).
Purchases and sales of existing houses rose 10.7% to 47,279, while transactions for new builds fell 7.8% year-on-year. This is the biggest drop since July 2020, to a total of 10,054 transactions.
In September, 92.4% of homes transferred by sale and purchase were freeholds and 7.6% were protected homes. Purchases of freehold homes rose 7.4% year-on-year, to 52,968 transactions. Meanwhile those of protected homes rose 1.4%, to a total of 4,365.
There has now been an increase for 19 consecutive months. However, the year-on-year increase is smaller than in August, when it stood at 14.9%.
Private transactions
According to the INE, seven in 10 sales and purchases (70%) involved transactions between private individuals. The total number was 40,148 in September, up 7.1% year-on-year. On a monthly basis (September compared to August), purchases and sales remained almost the same, with 57,327 transactions in August, and 57,333 in September.
In the first nine months of the year, home purchases and sales increased by 18.3%, with an increase of 21.3% for existing construction and 6.6% for new homes.
Andalucia to lead in September
Andalucia had the highest number of housing transactions in September, 11,468. This was followed by;
- Catalonia (9,278)
- Valencia (9,117)
- Madrid (6,905)
Relatively speaking, the most homes per 100,000 inhabitants were sold in the Comunidad Valenciana (226), Andalucia (170) and Murcia (169).
Also read: Costa Tropical is an emerging destination for properties in Andalucia
Differences compared to last year
The biggest year-on-year increases, compared to September 2021, occurred in the following areas;
- Canary Islands (35.5%)
- Extremadura (27.2%)
- Aragon (18.4%)
- Valencia (17.3%)
- Castilla-La Mancha (15.2%)
Increases were somewhat more moderate in Murcia (3.7%), the Basque Country (4.2%) and La Rioja (6.2%).
Year-on-year sales fell in four regions: Navarre, – 21.9% compared to September last year, Madrid (-4.8%), Andalucia (-2.2%) and Castilla y León, with a drop of 0.6%.
City more in demand than countryside
The number of homes transferred was 175,274, down 2.1% year-on-year. 88.7% were urban properties, including houses but also garages and other types of premises, and 11.3% rural properties. Purchases and sales of urban properties rose 1.7% year-on-year, while those of rural properties fell 11.1% to 91,371 and 11,616 transactions, respectively.
