Property Sales in Spain Up in First Quarter

Spanish property sales numbers are up nationally according to the latest quarterly property market report from Lucas Fox International.

The agent reported an increase of 26 per cent in Spanish property sales during the first quarter of 2017.

The total transaction value of all property sales rose even more dramatically, by 54 per cent nationally.

Major Spanish cities led the boom, with Madrid and Valencia showing increases in total transaction value of 109 per cent and 112 per cent respectively. Barcelona show the largest increase in property sales at 58 per cent, with a 62 per cent increase in transaction values.

Data from the National Institute of Statistics (INE) for the first two months of 2017 reflected the rise, showing property sales nationally up by 10 per cent when compared to the same period in 2016.

Barcelona also led the way in the INE statistics, showing the largest recorded increase in property sales of 23 per cent.

Head of operations at Lucas Fox, Rod Jamieson, commented: ‘We expect that the recovery will extend to the surrounding areas of the cities and other parts of Spain during the next 12 to 18 months. With easier financing and continued low interest rates, we predict that the demand for homes will continue to rise.’

The strong growth in Barcelona was attributed to interest from both Spanish nationals and overseas property investors.

The agent reported a doubling of property sales to Spanish nationals during the first quarter of the year, when compared to the same period last year, reaching 29 per cent of the total.

British buyers are also refusing to be left behind. Despite Brexit affecting British property purchases in some Spanish resorts, sales to Brits in Barcelona showed a significant increase and reached 25 per cent of all sales in the city.