Property registry statistics show a sustained level of real estate activity in Spain through the second quarter, with prices rising 9.5 percent for living space. Housing prices edged up by 2.4 percent from the previous quarter, while June home sales climbed 18.3 percent compared with June 2021. Over the last twelve months, 626,345 homes were sold and registered, the highest total since the third quarter of 2008, well above the roughly 520,000 annual sales seen before the health crisis.
The median price per square meter continued to rise in both quarterly and annual comparisons. In the second quarter, the average price reached €1,957/m², up 2.4 percent from the prior quarter. This gain was primarily driven by a 3.4 percent rise in used homes, as new housing slipped by 0.7 percent. The College of Registrars notes that only about two in ten purchases involve new housing, and many buyers sign sales agreements with an advance that can span up to two years, so the current market activity more accurately reflects the evolution of prices for used homes.
Second-quarter Real Estate Registration Statistics for 2022 examine, among other trends, how Spaniards are purchasing homes, including the balance between flats and single-family houses and the share of purchases in capital cities versus their respective regions.
Looking at annual figures for Spain as a whole, the average price was €1,894/m² for the year, with an annual increase of 7.4 percent. New-home prices rose more modestly at 1.6 percent, while used housing surged by 9.5 percent, supported by strong demand in the resale market.
By autonomous community, the second quarter saw the highest average prices in the Balearic Islands (€3,180/m²), Madrid (€3,169/m²), the Basque Country (€2,787/m²), and Catalonia (€2,427/m²). Conversely, Extremadura (€796/m²) and Castilla-La Mancha (€830/m²) stood as the lowest regions, with prices below €1,000 per square meter in these areas.
Between April and June, 163,909 homes were registered as sold, down 0.2 percent from the previous quarter. New-home sales totaled 27,879, down 13.7 percent quarter over quarter. Used housing transactions rose by 3.1 percent to 136,030 in the same period.
foreign purchases
Foreign demand reached its highest level in ten years during the second quarter, accounting for 14.7 percent of total purchases and marking five straight quarters of growth. This exceeds the typical 13 percent seen in recent years. The United Kingdom led foreign buyers with 9.8 percent, followed by Germany (9.1 percent), France (6.6 percent), Morocco (4.9 percent), Belgium (4.9 percent), and Romania (4.9 percent). Among autonomous communities, purchases by foreigners were strongest in the Balearic Islands (34.7 percent), the Canary Islands (34.2 percent), and the Valencian Community (27.7 percent).
Regarding the split between flats and detached houses, the second quarter saw 80.8 percent of sales attributed to flats and 19.2 percent to single-family homes, a historical high for detached homes at the time. Looking back over the last twelve months, single-family homes accounted for 19.7 percent, with the latest quarter showing a similar share, maintaining an approximate 80/20 ratio for apartments versus detached homes and edging closer to pre-pandemic distributions that historically did not exceed an 18 percent share for single-family homes.
The mortgage market continued its upward trajectory, with steady gains through June. A total of 52,588 mortgages were registered, up from 48,374 in June 2021, an increase of 8.7 percent and more than 4,200 additional transactions. Residential mortgages rose from 35,779 in June of the previous year to 39,778 in the latest month, up 11.2 percent, nearly 4,000 more operations. Overall, mortgage activity shows a sustained, if moderate, upward trend alongside sales activity in June.