Spain property transactions rose 16% in February, official data reveals

In February this year, more than 41,000 home sales were recorded across Spain.

Spain’s National Institute of Statistics (INE) on Wednesday published data that showed the number of property sales in February this year was 16.2% higher than at the same point in 2017. According to the INE, 41,480 residential property transactions were registered in the shortest month of the year, which is a rather impressive figure and the highest for February since 2011…

The increase is also higher than it was in January, which registered an 11% rise in property sales.

Across the country’s 17 autonomous communities, all but one (Extremadura) recorded an increase in sales activity, with Cantabria registering an astonishing 42.1% increase in property sales against the same month 12 months ago.

There were similarly impressive figures for the Canary Islands (31% increase) and Castilla-La Mancha (27.5% increase). In terms of home sales per 100,000 inhabitants, Comunidad Valenciana’s figure of 164 put the region top of the charts in terms of being the busiest market.

While monthly home sales snapshots rarely provide the full picture, February 2018’s data marks the continuation of a positive property trend.

By adding the 41,480 sales to the previous 11 months’ data, the number of homes sold in Spain rises above 480,000 for the past 12 months – a figure that means the property market is currently the most active and dynamic it has been for nine years.

Since 2014, which was a year that represented the bottom of the Spanish property market, transaction volumes have increased by 61%, with most experts in agreement that current sales volumes are more sustainable in the long run and are underpinned by steady and manageable price increases almost nationwide.