Notaries: House Sales Rose By 26.6% YoY In January

16 March 2016 – Expansión

House sales shot up by 27.7% during the first month of 2016.

The number of house sales recorded an increase of 26.6% in January compared with the same month in 2015, with 27,568 operations, although that variation moves up to 28% if we consider the series corrected for seasonal effects, according to statistics prepared by the General Council of Notaries.

The annual increase in the number of sales was driven by an expansion in the sale of apartments (+27.7%), the increase in the sale of single-family homes (+22.6%) and the sale of other properties (+22% YoY).

In the case of apartments, the sale of unsubsidised homes experienced a 28.2% increase with respect to January 2015. Within this segment, the sale of second-hand flats rose by 32.8%, which contrasted with the 3.8% decrease experienced by the sale of new apartments.

In terms of average prices, the price per square metre of the homes purchased in January amounted to €1,303/m2, which reflects a YoY increase of 2%, due both to the increase in the price per square metre of apartments (+1.5%), as well as the rise in the price of single-family homes (+4.5%). In terms of flats, the price per square metre of second-hand properties amounted to €1,405/m2 (+2.1%) compared with €1,732/m2 (+1.2%) for new homes.

Meanwhile, there were 6,590 operations involving other properties during the first month of the year, which represents a YoY increase of 22%. Of those operations, 38.6% related to plots of land. The average price per square metre of those transactions amounted to €243/2 (up by +34.6% YoY).

In light of this data, the General Council of Notaries believes that the Spanish real estate market is continuing its recovery, which is also being reflected in the evolution of the mortgage market for the acquisition of homes. (…).

Original story: Expansión

Translation: Carmel Drake