In March, housing sales fell 5.7% from the same month last year, totaling 55,778 transactions, according to the National Institute of Statistics. The decline comes as higher interest rates are used to curb inflation, a trend noted by INE on Thursday.
From a year-over-year perspective, March marks the second consecutive month of negative sales for home purchases, following a 6.6% drop in February. The March decrease is attributed to weaker demand across both second-hand and new homes.
Specifically, the purchase and sale of second-hand houses declined 5.3% in March, reaching 45,309 transactions, while sales of new apartments fell by 7.5%, numbering 10,469 transactions for the month.
Among transactions, 92% of the houses transferred in March were on the free market, with 8% recorded as subsidized or protected housing. Detached house sales decreased by 6% year over year to 51,302 transactions, while subsidized housing deals declined 2.8% to a total of 4,476.
On a monthly basis, housing sales rose 11% from February to March, marking the strongest monthly increase in five years.