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Property Purchase Creeps 5.3% Up in April & Marks 2 Months of Rise

11/06/2014 – El Economista

As per data provided by Spain´s National Insititute of Statistics (or INE), April sales increased by 5.3% if compared to the same month a year earlier.  In total, 24.968 deals were sealed two months ago.

The year-over-year rebound in April marks the second consecutive month of appreciation in transaction number. In March, they shot up by 22%.

However, the statistics must be taken with a pinch of salt as they may be influenced by Easter befalling this year in April (in 2013 it was in March). Moreover, the INE´s information is based on sales entered in property registry books which in turns base on public deeds concluded in earlier months than the reference might suggest.

Looking closely at monthly data solely (March over April), property purchase went down by 7.7%, meaning the slighest fall since 2010.

The YOY rise is mostly due to the 5.1% improvement in case of resales (14.306 transactions) and the 5.7% increase in case of new houses (10.662 operations).

Out of all units sold, 88.9% corresponded to free properties (22.199 transactions, +4.3% YOY), while subsidized houses marked 2.769 purchases (+14.9% YOY).

In the first four months of the ongoing year, housing sales slump accumulates 10.6%, with -18.5% for new homes and -3% for used units. Subsidized house purchase diminished by 22.7% during that period, while free dwellings lost on popularity by 8.8%.

Spanish regions

In April, the biggest number of transactions conducted per each 100.000 inhabitants have been registered in the Canaries (98), followed by Andalusia (4.733 operations), Catalonia (3.724), the Valencian Community (3.497) and Madrid (3.345).

On the other hand, in April the fewest purchase contracts were signed in La Rioja (154), Navarra (285) and Asturias (333).

In turn, in year-on-year terms, housing sales shot up in the Basque Country (+48.8%), Cantabria (+41.6%) and the Balearic Islands (+28,5%), while they dipped down in Castille-La Mancha (-21.8%), Murcia (-16%) and Andalusia (-8.9%).

Property transfer plummets by 13.9%

Taking into account both rural and urban property [fincas] (houses and other units of urban nature), they played the main role at 122.601 transfers, falling by 13.9% over April 2013.

Transfers for the reason of purchase post 3.6% less units, while for donation they declined 30.9%. Swap transfers went down by 20.1%, while inheritance dropped by 14.6%.

According to the INE data, rural property sales decreased 3.8% in April YOY, whereas urban property (dwellings included) fell 3.5%.

In April, the total number of property transfers entered in the Property Records per each 100.000 inhabitants was the biggest in Aragon (502), Castille-La Mancha (488) and Castille and Leon (480). The only regions where the operations advanced were the Balearic Islands (+3.1%), the Basque Country (+2.8%) and Cantabria (+1.6%), while they plummeted in La Rioja (-30.9%) and Castille and Leon (-28.9%).

 

Original article: El Economista (after Europa Press)

Translation: AURA REE