Taylor Scott International News
Residential property sales in Spain increased by 19.4% in June compared with the same month in 2015, according to the latest data from the National Statistics Institute. Sales reached 36,856, the highest figure recorded since January of 2013, when a total of 39,920 transactions were registered and sales have now increased year on year for five months in a row. However, the data also shows that the June increase is lower than the figure recorded in May when home sales climbed by 23.6% year on year. A breakdown of the figures shows that sales of used homes increased by 24% year on year to 30,270 in June while sales of new homes increased by 2% to 6.586. There is also variation when it comes to location with more sales recorded in coastal areas. Andalucía recorded the most sales at 7,496, followed by Catalonia at 6,000, Madrid at 5,441 and Valencia at 5,012. Meanwhile, data from Tinsa, one of Spain’s leading appraisal companies, shows that the average property price increased by 1.5% in June, led by the larger cities with Barcelona, Madrid, and Valencia prices up by 3.6%. Prices are also increasing in areas that are popular with overseas buyers with growth of 1.8% in the Canary and Balearic Islands and a rise of 0.3% on the Mediterranean coast. The data also shows that over the first six months of the year prices are up 8.7% in the Balearics and Canaries and 3% in the bigger cities, but down 0.8% on the Mediterranean coast. Peak to present house prices across Spain are down 41% and down 48.5% on the coast but only 26.7% on the islands where land shortages and foreign demand have supported prices during the economic downturn. The recent decision by the UK to leave the European Union has raised concerns that British buyers might put off buying and now an interest rate cut has led to Sterling weakening, making Spanish property more expensive for buyers from the UK. But Martin Dell, director of Spanish property portal Kyero believes that prices still being well below peak should mean that British buyers are still attracted to Spain. ‘The market is also more diversified against UK risk than many imagine. British buyers form just 4% of national sales and with purchases by German, Dutch, Belgian and Swedish buyers growing particularly strongly this year, the Spanish property market recovery is unlikely to be heavily impacted,’ he pointed out. ‘The Brexit vote has undoubtedly created new opportunities in the market, with Spanish agents showing a fresh interest in finding other international buyers. Those that adapt quickest will steal market share. It's never the wrong time to find more buyers, regardless of how this pans out,’ he explained. ‘We have seen no reduction in buyer enquiries in the month following the referendum. We know Brits buy property in Spain for a variety of reasons and we think most will be largely unaffected by Brexit. However we do call… Taylor Scott International
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