Volume of Spanish home sales at highest for five years

Property sales for June are 19.4% up on last year, while for the first six months of the year that figure is a strong 16.4% increase.

Official statistics published late last week by Spain’s Economic Ministry have revealed that the number of homes sold in June was higher than it has been for five years.

According to the data, June saw 36,856 transactions registered nationwide, which represented a 19.4% increase on June 2015 and was the highest for any month since August 2010. The figure also represents 100 sales per 100,000 inhabitants of purchasing age – a threshold that has long been seen as a marker of a healthy property sector…

Regional sales increases were recorded in 15 of Spain’s 17 autonomous communities for the month, with only Navarra and La Rioja bucking the upwards trend. And June was no blip. For the year to date, the average number of transactions per month is 16.4% higher than the same period last year, and when that trend is looked at over the past 12 months, the increase is still encouraging, at 14.7%.

Not since August 2011 has the Spanish property market enjoyed such a year-long upturn in activity, and that coming off the back of one of the worst recessions in living memory. With Spain’s economy improving and set to see GDP grow by more than 2.7% this year as well as next, and with the country enjoying a bumper summer season, those dark, post-recession days are fading ever more into history.

Further encouraging data on the strength of Spain’s recovery and enduring popularity came this week from the Airports Council International Europe (ACIS), which found that both Málaga and Alicante airports are two of Europe’s fastest growing, recording increases in passenger numbers in the first half of 2016 of 14.6% and 16.1% respectively.

“These figures confirm what a magnificent year we’re experiencing on the Costa right now. Not only does it show record numbers, but also our growth in a European context,” said Elías Bendodo, president of Turismo Costa del Sol. “The steady growth in the past six months confirms our prediction that 2016 will be a record year for tourism here.”