Spain Records 30% Property Sales Increase in March

Spain Records 30% Property Sales Increase in March

In the past 12 months over 400,000 Spanish homes have tradedhands; 15% more than in the prior 12 months.

The recovery continues which is wonderful for the whole of

spain

The latest data from the Institute of National Statistics (INE) released last week show that March has seen an increase of 30% in transactions year-on-year.

According to the data from the INE, the 40,461 homes changing hands during March in Spain was the highest monthly figured reported since 2011. It would have been the highest since the credit crunch bit in 2008, except the government boosted 2011 sales with a tax break.

2017 has been a record-breaking post-recession year for property transactions so far, with January and February posting sales data that resembles something from before the housing bubble burst.

Putting it all together, some 114,528 Spanish properties were bought and sold in the first three months of 2017; around 15% more than during the first three months of 2016. Extrapolating it across 12 months shows that property sales will reach 419,000 – an increase of 15% over the previous 12 month period.

16 of the 17 autonomous communities of Spain reported increasesin property sales. The only area where sales contracted was the Canary Islands, where sales were down 3.5% compared to last March.

The largest increases were reported in La Rioja, Cantabria, and Asturias; all of which reported growth of over 40%.

Analysing the data from the INE further shows that 110 property transactions occurred for every 100,000 people considered to be of home-buying age. This came up to 150 and 148/100,000 people in Valencia and the Balearics respectively.

Spain Mortgage Market Records 14% Growth in 2016

Buying property in Spain has never been so easy or cheap

While it’s hard to accurately gauge the growth of the Spanish property market in 2016 because there are a lot of different metrics involved in measuring it, mortgages are one area where the growth is obvious.

After all, mortgages are always mortgages. The data from the Spanish central statistics institutes shows that 14% more mortgages were approved in 2016 over 2015. There were a total of around 281,328 mortgages issued last year in Spain, with December welcoming the 29^th year-on-year increase across 30 months as 20,747 mortgages were taken out by new homebuyers.

December alone saw a 6.9% increase over December of 2015, and continued the welcome trend of increased confidence in the Spanish property market. It also served as more proof that the boom is supported by foreign and domestic buyers alike.

Referring to the trend as an “upturn” would be a little unfair though. The word “upturn” suggests that it’s just temporary, while the reality is that things have been looking good for 30 months now. That’s hardly a temporary boost.

Something else interesting about the data is that the average loan was around 2.8% higher than it was in 2015, which shows not just an increase in property prices (an increase that ranges depending on who you ask) but also the growing confidence of banks and other lending institutes in the solvency of borrowers. This basically means that more Spaniards are employed in secure, well-paying jobs, leaving them in better positions to buy homes and reassuring banks that the economy is doing well.

In terms of numbers, the average mortgage in December was €112,680, with an average of €109,759 for the entire year.

Spain Officially Smashes Tourism Records in 2016

Spain Officially Smashes Tourism Records in 2016

All Tourist record were broken month by

month in Spain in 2016

The heads of some 75 million people were turned towards Spain in 2016. This is a record figure and is up 10% over 2015, when Spain become the third-most visited country in the world. The official tourism figures haven’t been published by the UN body just yet, so we can’t say for sure if Spain was actually the most popular country in the world. That fight usually comes down to a Spain, France, and the USA.

Even so everyone welcomed the Spanish surge of 2016. It boosted the economy and improved international standing during a year when many other popular destinations lost tourists due to the threat of terrorism.

Spain saw a record-breaking 68 million tourists during 2015, with many people attributing that to the safety of Spain. However some dispute the claim that the only reason Spain did so well is because other countries were facing terrorism; arguing that Spain succeeded because of how well it promotes itself as being an ideal destination.

Spain is also helped out by the great climate, culture, andcuisine. There is also a broader range of holidaymakers heading to Spain. Some of them are just after a cheap holiday and others are looking to explore everything Spain has to offer.