Homes sales in Spain are rising again after a summer lull but figures are distorted for a number of reasons, including a potential Brexit effect, according to real estate experts.
Data from the National Institute of Statistics (INE) show that sales increased in August by 20% compared to a year ago but such a rise was expected because the inscription of many previous sales was delayed in July due to a Supreme Court ruling.
The legal ruling on clauses in mortgage contracts meant that property registrars suspended the inscription of sales tied to mortgages affected by the ruling and this has distorted the figures.
Resales were up 25%, and new home sales were up by 3%, led by the Balearics where transactions were up 36% in the year to August, and up by 26% in Almeria and 25% in Barcelona.
There are signs that the British decision to leave the European Union may have had an impact on sales to foreign buyers. For example, the growth in the Balearics is being driven by demand from German buyers.
In locations like Malaga on the Costa del Sol, Alicante on the Costa Blanca and Murcia which are popular with British buyers sales are still growing, but significantly less than other regions that attract foreign buyers. This could be due to a lower British demand due to the impact of Brexit on British budgets and confidence.
Meanwhile, the latest figures from the Association of Spanish Notaries also show that sales increased in August, up 17.4% year on year. But Mark Stucklin of Spanish Property Insight pointed out that the Spanish housing market is still just half the size it was in July 2007 but has recovered from a low of 30% at the end of 2012.
He also pointed out that the notaries do not break down their monthly sales figures by region, making it difficult to tell if Brexit is having an effect on the market in the four or five provinces where British demand is concentrated.
‘However, the latest home sales figures from the INE, based on sales inscribed in the land registry in August and witnessed by notaries in the preceding months do break down sales by province, and show that growth has been far below the national average in provinces where the British have historically been big buyers. That’s the Brexit effect for you,’ said Stucklin.
