In July, the trade volume in the real estate market rose by 8% compared with the same month in the previous year, with a total of 53,720 transactions completed. The second-hand home segment expanded by 10.4%, while new construction declined by 2.5%, marking twenty consecutive months of mixed performance across housing activity. This pattern points to a market showing resilience in existing-home demand even as new developments faced a brief slide in activity.
New data published this Friday by the National Institute of Statistics (INE) indicates that home sales fell 7.4% from June on a month-to-month basis. However, when evaluating the year-to-date trajectory, the figures reveal a 20.8% rise in overall sales, with used homes contributing a 23.7% increase and new homes contributing a 9.1% rise in cumulative terms. These numbers highlight a shifting emphasis within the market, where activity remains robust overall despite monthly pullbacks in some segments. (INE)
Across the descriptors of the market, the total sales in July show a seventeen-month sequence of monthly fluctuations. Although July represented the lowest point within the observed cycle, the data confirms a slowdown that had already been detected in June. Importantly, the 10.4% increase in the second-hand market stands at its lowest level since February 2021, suggesting a cooling in bidding fervor while still maintaining solid demand compared with earlier periods. (INE)
Geographically, autonomous communities registered the strongest annual gains in July in certain regions. The Canary Islands led with a 24.3% year-over-year increase, followed by the Balearic Islands at 19.5% and Cantabria at 19.3% in terms of house sales. Conversely, Navarra (-13.4%), the Community of Madrid (-9.0%), and La Rioja (-8.8%) experienced declines in transactions, illustrating regional divergences that characterize the national market. These patterns underscore the importance of local factors such as affordability, credit conditions, and local demand dynamics when assessing housing activity. (INE)
INE statistics also reflect a notable composition of buyers: seven out of ten sales in July were closed with individual buyers, representing 69.7% of total transactions and marking a 7.4% increase from the same month in 2021. This shift toward private purchasers emphasizes the continuation of a personal-finance-driven segment within housing demand, even as institutional activity remains comparatively moderate. (INE)