Tag: statistics

Notaries: House Sales Decreased By 10.9% In January 2015

17 March 2015 – El Mundo

House sales decreased by 10.9% in January 2015 with respect to January 2014 and prices fell by 6%.

On the up side, the volume of new mortgages increased by 11.4%.

The real estate statistics published by the General Council of Notaries relating to the month of January 2015, have somewhat dampened the euphoria that the housing market has been enjoying in recent weeks. The notaries report a 10% decrease in sales and a 6% year-on-year reduction in prices. Nevertheless, on the up side, the notaries indicate that during the first month of the year, mortgage lending increased by 11.4%.

According to these house purchase figures, there were 21,320 transactions in January, which represented a year-on-year decrease of 10.9%. “Despite this decrease in the monthly figures, the data actually reflects a stabilisation in terms of sales. This decrease may be explained by the end of the ‘base affect’ due to the normalisation of the figures following the conclusion of the period for tax deductions on purchases”, explain the notaries.

By type of property, the sale of flats experienced a year-on-year decrease of 11.5%, similar to the decline observed for unsubsidised flats (-11.4%). This decrease in the volume of transactions was due, primarily, to the significant decline in the sale of new flats (-31.8%). Meanwhile, the sale of second-hand flats shrank by 7.6% year-on-year. Regarding the sale of detached homes (viviendas unifamiliares), the number of transactions decreased by 8.4%.

Price decreases

In terms of average prices, the cost per square metre of homes purchased in January was €1,234, which represented a year-on-year decrease of 6%. This reduction in the price per square metre of homes was driven by both a reduction in the price per square metre of flats (-5.6% year-on-year), as well as a decrease in the price per square metre of detached homes (viviendas unifamiliares) (-6.4%).

In the flat segment, the price per square metre of second-hand properties amounted to €1,347 (-3.2% year-on-year) and of new homes amounted to €1,624 (-12.5% year-on-year). In terms of detached homes (viviendas unifamiliares), the average cost per square metre amounted to €1,001, i.e. 5.4% lower than in January 2014.

Mortgage lending is on the increase

Meanwhile, the number of mortgage loans granted to purchase homes increased by 11.4% year-on-year, and the average amount of capital loaned amounted to €126,989 (up by +9.2% year-on-year). In this sense, the percentage of home purchases financed using a mortgage amounted to 41.5%. Moreover, for this type of purchase, with financing, the mortgage amount represented an average of 76.2% of the appraisal value of the house financed.

Original story: El Mundo

Translation: Carmel Drake

INE: Mortgages Increase By 14% In November 2014

28 January 2015 – Expansión

15,900 mortgages were taken out during the penultimate month of the year, an increase of 14.2% compared with November 2013. The statistic completes six consecutive months of double-digit increases.

The number of home mortgages recorded in the property registry amounted to 15,900 last November, up by 14.2% with respect to the same month in 2013, according to statistics published today by the National Institute of Statistics (INE). The data comes from public deeds signed during the previous months.

With the year-on-year rise in November, home mortgages have now experienced double-digit increases in each of the last six consecutive months, after the rise of almost 19% in June, 28.8% in July, 24% in August, 29% in September and 18% in October.

The average size of the home mortgages taken out amounted to €104,817 during the penultimate month of the year, which represented a decrease of 1.7% compared with the same month in 2013, whilst the total amount of capital loaned increased by 12.2% year-on-year, to exceed €1,666 million.

In monthly terms (November 2014 versus October of the same year), the number of home mortgages fell by 10.1%, the largest decline during that month since 2010, whilst the total amount loaned experienced a monthly decline of 5.6%, its greatest drop in the last five years.

During the first eleven months of 2014, the number of home mortgages decreased by 0.2% with respect to the same period in 2013, although the total amount of capital loaned increased by 5.6% and the average size of mortgages rose by 2%.

By autonomous region, the greatest number of home mortgages were reported in Andalucía (3,183), Madrid (2,565), Cataluña (2,264) and Valencia (1,743) in November. Meanwhile, the most capital was lent in the regions of Madrid (€382.9m), Andalucía (€288.7m) and Cataluña (€261.1m).

Original story: Expansión

Translation: Carmel Drake

What Is Driving The Boom In The Sale Of Second-Hand Homes?

14 January 2015 – El Economista

New homes that are more than two years old and those sold by banks are considered to be “used homes”.

The real estate website idealista.com says that the methodology used by the National Institute of Statistics (INE) to compile statistics on housing sales explains, at least in part, the “hegemony” of used housing over new housing.

Analysis prepared by idealista news recalls the latest statistics published by INE, which showed a 20.6% decline in the number of new home transactions in November (down to 7,767 homes) versus a 41.6% upturn in the sales of existing homes (to 17,433). Thus, 69.2% of the homes sold during the month were used.

However, the website notes that, only part of this “hegemony” of second-hand housing is explained by “the greater bargaining power that individual homeowners have versus developers”; the rest is down to two other factors.

How does INE define used homes?

Fernando Encinar, Head of Research at idealista.com says that, at first glance, it appears striking that no new homes are being sold, but, points out that there is more to this data than meets the eye. This is because new homes that remain unsold after two years are classified as second-hand by INE.

Moreover, Encinar points out that “in the case of banks, they accumulate lots of newly constructed homes in their portfolios that have mainly been awarded e rate developers. For tax purposes and in INE’s survey, those properties are also considered to be used homes”.

The difference between new and used housing is also important for the Tax Authorities. In this way, if a brand new house is acquired, VAT of 10% is levied on the transaction.

For this purpose, the definition of a new home also includes a home that a person buys from the developer after having leased the property for at least two years. If, however, the purchaser were another person (not the tenant), then the sale would be considered to pertain to a second-hand home.

Finally, the website explains that when an existing home is sold, the purchaser must pay a property transfer tax (ITP), the rate of which varies by autonomous region.

Original story: El Economista

Translation: Carmel Drake