Fall in Spanish Property Sales Bottoms Out

As I am by nature a “realist” rather than optimist I suppose it is nice to on occasions offer a bit of “good news”! In this case the latest figures released by the Instituto Nacional de Estadistica (INE) highlight that the number of registered sales of Spanish properties increased by 2.1% in January (compared with the same period last year) the first increase since 2008, although the figures are still a far cry from those registered at the peak of the boom!

The reality is that the figures support my opinion, as set out in my Market Report March 2010 (for Mallorca), that the market has bottomed out. However rather than being in a recovery phase the market is trundling along the bottom, with total sales figures unable to move above 40,000 per month, less than half of those achieved at the peak of the boom.

Interestingly the sale of new build units fell while those for second hand properties rose, a situation somewhat different to what we have been seeing in the past where used property sales were very much lagging.  This could be a sign that the supply of very heavily discounted new build properties is drying up as sales are completed, although that is hard to equate with the reality of the supply overhang in many parts of the Spanish main land.

For more information and advice regarding the Spanish and Mallorca Property Market’s please contact David at Mallorca Chartered Surveyors. For available properties and property finding services see Novi Property Mallorca and Properties International Mallorca