Property Sales Slump In Spain

The Spanish property market shrank by 41% in January compared to the same month last year. Excluding social housing, there were 33,528 property transactions in January compared to 56,738 a year before according to the latest sales figures from Spain’s National Institute of Statistics.

Mark Stucklin reports that year on year sales were down -55% in the Balearics, -54% in Castellon (Costa Azahar), -53% in Barcelona province, -52% in Cadiz province (Costa de la Luz), and 50% in Alicante (Costa Blanca). Malaga province, home to the Costa del Sol, did rather better, with sales down ‘only’ -24%.

There is concern that house sales will continue to fall sharply in Spain especially for new build properties. Potential buyers seem to be content to sit on the sidelines for now. This will inevitably have a downward impact on Spanish property prices.