The house market showed an 11.4% rise in October compared with the same month in 2021, reaching 51,615 transactions. It marked the strongest October for sales since 2007, topping 58,500 sales, according to the National Institute of Statistics this week.
Housing chains climbed in October year over year, with positive momentum continuing for twenty straight months. The pace of activity accelerated by 4.5 points versus the year before September, when house sales rose by 6.9%.
October saw a 15.6% annual increase in second-hand home deals, totaling 42,771 transactions, while new flats declined 5.4% year over year to 8,844 deals.
Free market housing accounted for 92 percent of sales in October, with 8 percent classified as protected housing.
Detached homes led the field with 47,500 transactions, up 11.9% from the prior year, while protected residences grew by 5.2% to 4,115 deals.
According to INE, seven of the ten house sales completed in August involved individuals. In October, individuals completed 35,834 transactions, up 9.1% from October 2021.
On a month to month basis from September to October, sales fell by 10 percent, a smaller decline than in 2021 when October operations dropped 13.6 percent.
In the first ten months of the year, sales rose 20.7% for second-hand homes and 17.6% for new houses, with an overall increase of 5.4%.
Andalusia at the start of the selling season
Last October, the highest sales per 100,000 inhabitants were in Valencia (203), Andalusia (163), and Cantabria (161).
In absolute terms, Andalusia led the region with 10,949 homes sold in October, followed by the Valencian Community (8,199), Catalonia (8,181), and Madrid (6,443).
Thirteen communities sold more homes in October than in the previous year. The biggest increases were in Extremadura (33%), the Canary Islands (32.5%), the Basque Country (24.6%), Asturias (21.7%), and Valencia (17.4%). The smaller gains were in Madrid (1.7%), Cantabria (3.8%), and Castilla y León (5.9%).
In contrast, four regions saw declines in October: Navarra down 8.8%, La Rioja down 3.7%, Galicia down 1.7%, and Castilla-La Mancha down 0.1% year over year.
Total number of farms transferred declined slightly
Last October recorded 168,976 farm transfers in public deeds, a 0.3% decrease from the prior year.
Compared with a year earlier, sales transfers rose 2.8%, while transfers by donation fell 14.6% and inherited transactions slipped 1.7%. Barter transactions dropped 27.3%.
Urban residences accounted for 87.7% of October sales, with 12.3% comprising homes and rustic properties. Compared with October 2021, urban property sales rose 4.6% year over year, while rustic property sales fell 8.4% to 82,888 transactions and 11,587 operations respectively.