Else Beekman
In August 2024, a total of 49,453 homes were sold in Spain, marking a modest increase of 0.9% compared to the same month last year. The data, published by Spain’s National Statistics Institute (INE), shows a continued upward trend after a sharp 19% spike in sales in July.
The slight rise in August is largely due to a 7.6% jump in new homes sales, with 9,929 transactions recorded. However, sales of second-hand homes saw a small decline of 0.7%, with 39,524 properties sold.
In terms of property types, 92.8% of the homes sold were free-market properties, while 7.2% were subsidised or protected housing. Free-market sales rose by 1% year-on-year to 45,880 transactions. In contrast, sales of protected housing dropped by 0.8%, totalling 3,573 transactions.
Despite the yearly increase, home sales fell by 13.7% compared to July 2024. Over the first eight months of the year, total home sales decreased by 1%, with new home sales up by 7.7% but second-hand sales down by 3.1%.
Regional variations
Seven regions in Spain saw increases in home sales, while ten regions experienced declines. The biggest growth occurred in Asturias (20.9%), Extremadura (15%), and the Basque Country (13.2%). Other regions that saw positive growth include Castilla-La Mancha (9%), Catalonia (7%), Galicia (4.6%), and the Canary Islands (2%).
On the other hand, La Rioja suffered the largest drop, with a decrease of 16.4%. Other significant declines were seen in Aragón (-10.9%) and Navarra (-4.7%). Regions like Cantabria (-4.5%), the Balearic Islands (-4.4%), Madrid (-3.6%), Castilla y León (-2.3%), the Valencian Community (-2.3%), Andalucia (-1.9%), and Murcia (-0.2%) also experienced declines in housing transactions.
Also read: Home sales in Spain fell in May, but prices continue to rise