Spain Home Sales Growth Slows to 0.9%: Trends Revealed

Discover where Spain's home sales are rising and falling amid a slowdown to 0.9%. Explore the latest trends in the Spain real estate market.

In August 2024, Spain's real estate market experienced a noteworthy transaction of 49,453 homes, reflecting a modest uptick of 0.9% in comparison to the same month in the preceding year. This data, meticulously compiled and disseminated by Spain’s National Statistics Institute (INE), underscores a persistent upward trajectory following a remarkable 19% surge in sales recorded in July. The incremental rise observed in August can be predominantly attributed to a robust 7.6% increase in new home sales, culminating in 9,929 transactions. Conversely, the second-hand home market encountered a slight contraction, with sales dipping by 0.7%, resulting in 39,524 properties changing hands.

Delving deeper into the nuances of property types, it is noteworthy that a staggering 92.8% of the homes sold were classified as free-market properties, while a mere 7.2% fell under the category of subsidized or protected housing. The free-market segment exhibited a commendable year-on-year growth of 1%, translating to 45,880 transactions. In stark contrast, the sales of protected housing experienced a marginal decline of 0.8%, totaling 3,573 transactions. Despite the annual increase, it is imperative to highlight that home sales plummeted by 13.7% when juxtaposed with the preceding month of July 2024.

Over the initial eight months of the year, the cumulative home sales reflected a slight decrease of 1%. Notably, new home sales ascended by 7.7%, while the second-hand market faced a downturn of 3.1%. A geographical analysis reveals that seven regions within Spain reported increases in home sales, whereas ten regions encountered declines. The most pronounced growth was observed in Asturias, with an impressive 20.9% increase, followed closely by Extremadura at 15% and the Basque Country at 13.2%. Additional regions that exhibited positive growth included Castilla-La Mancha (9%), Catalonia (7%), Galicia (4.6%), and the Canary Islands (2%).

On the flip side, La Rioja bore the brunt of the largest decline, suffering a significant decrease of 16.4%. Other notable downturns were recorded in Aragón (-10.9%) and Navarra (-4.7%). Furthermore, regions such as Cantabria (-4.5%), the Balearic Islands (-4.4%), Madrid (-3.6%), Castilla y León (-2.3%), the Valencian Community (-2.3%), Andalucía (-1.9%), and Murcia (-0.2%) also grappled with declines in housing transactions. This intricate tapestry of data not only reflects the current state of the housing market but also hints at the underlying economic currents shaping Spain's real estate landscape.