This sale period closed with robust activity. The year 2022 ended with 646,241 real estate transactions, a 14.5% increase from 2021, according to Real Estate Registry Statistics 2022 Yearbook data released this week by the College of Registrars.
Overall, housing transactions finished the year strong: 531,589 transactions were completed for resale housing, up 17.6% year over year, while new homes reached 114,652 transactions, up 1.9% from 2021.
The average price paid for a house in 2022 stood at 188,036 euros, which is 4.5% higher than in 2021. Four autonomous communities exceeded the national average in spending on housing. The Balearic Islands reported prices well above the national average, with typical housing expenditures around 346,499 euros. In Madrid, the average hovered around 310,127 euros, and the Basque Country averaged 242,782 euros. Catalonia also posted a price above the national mean, at roughly 221,162 euros in 2022.
Meanwhile, the regions with comparatively lower prices included Extremadura, where homes averaged 86,677 euros, Castilla-La Mancha around 96,513 euros, and Murcia exceeding 109,000 euros, according to data from the College of Registrars.
Throughout 2022, 51.6% of sales occurred on properties larger than 80 square meters. Apartments between 60 and 80 square meters accounted for 28.1% of transactions, compared with 52.5% in 2021, while homes between 40 and 60 square meters represented 16.8% of the total. The report also shows that 3.5% of apartments measured less than 40 square meters, up slightly from 3.3% the previous year.
Another notable point for the year is the first-time analysis of bare ownership sales, which registered 1,657 transactions in 2022, a 23.7% rise from 2021.
foreign demand
Foreign buyers accounted for 13.8% of home purchases in 2022, up from 10.8% in 2021. This shift interrupts a five-year downward trend in the share held by this group and signals renewed strength in foreign demand within the housing market [Registrar’s Office].
Autonomous communities most favored by international buyers remained the Balearic Islands with 34.4%, followed by the Canary Islands at 28.6%, Comunidad Valenciana at 26.8%, and Murcia at 19.1% [Registrar’s Office].
About 10.1% of foreign purchases required a payment of 500,000 euros or more. There was also growth in non-EU buyers, who represented 42.3% of total foreign buyers in 2022, up from 40.5% in 2021.
UK leader
By nationality, British buyers were the most prominent among foreigners, often choosing homes in Andalusia, Murcia, and Valencia, with Alicante being a popular point of purchase. Germans frequently bought in the Balearic and Canary Islands, Chinese buyers favored Barcelona, and Portuguese buyers leaned toward Galicia. In interior provinces, Romanian buyers led, while Moroccans dominated in the south and were present across several central and northern provinces [Registrar’s Office].
Distribution patterns show Romanian activity concentrated in inland areas, with Moroccan purchases predominating in the south, though spread across multiple regions.
average ownership time
The typical duration of home ownership in Spain rose to 16 years and nine months in 2022, up 2.7% from 2021 and marking a historical high. In 2009, ownership averaged 7 years and 4 months, a reminder of shifting market dynamics over the decades [Registrar’s Office].
On mortgages, there was an 11.2% rise in registrations for residential loans, surpassing the 2013 post-crisis low when signing floor was 199,098 transactions. La Rioja led growth with a 24% increase, followed by the Balearic Islands at 22.1%. Navarra saw the largest decrease, down 2.6%. Foreigners accounted for 6.6% of new mortgage activity, amounting to 30,503 registrations in 2022, a higher rate than 2021, at 7% [Registrar’s Office].
The average contract interest rate hovered around 2.3% in 2022, while the typical mortgage term extended to 24 years and 4 months. The mean monthly payment for housing loans reached 647 euros, about 52 euros more than the prior year.