Home Sales Increased 8.4% in October
The number of homes sold in October was 49,515, according to the General Council of Notaries. This represents an increase of 8.4% when compared to the same month last year.
By type of property, the sales of flats showed an increase of 6.2%, while sales of single-family homes showed an increase of 16.5%, year-on-year. The increases were on both the sales of second-hand homes (6.5%) and of new property (11.2%).
In terms of average price, the square metre of homes purchased in October reached €1,367, reflecting a slight drop of 0.4% year-on-year. This slight reduction in the price per square metre was due exclusively to the drop in price of single-family properties which fell by 1.3%. Meanwhile, the average price of flats increased by 0.9%.
Looking at the prices further, the average cost of a square metre of a second-hand property fell by 0.2% to €1,507, while the price of new property increased by 6.4% to reach €2,004.
Lastly, in October, the purchase and sale of other properties stood at 11,753 transactions, which is an annual increase of 8.4%. Of those sales, 38.9% related to land or plots. The average price of those land transactions stood at €205 per square metre, an annual increase of 0.4%.
Mortgages in October
The Notaries state that the number of new mortgage loans taken in October was 30,113, representing an annual increase of 9%. The average amount of these loans was €173,373, which shows an annual increase of 5.5%.
The amount of loans taken for the purchase of homes increased by 13.8%, annually, while the increase in loans for other types of property grew by 2.2%. The average capital loaned for the purchase of a home in October was €134,900, reflecting an interannual increase of 1.8%. For other types of property, the average loan amount was €195,101, a significant drop of 16.7% year-on-year.
Loans taken for construction of a property increased by 10.1% to reach 601 operations. The average amount of those loans was €488,209, reflecting an annual increase of 38.7%. When breaking that down, the average amount of loans taken for the construction of a residential property reached €389,703, an increase of 30.6%. These loans amounted to 468 transactions.
Finally, the percentage of home purchases which were financed through a mortgage loan stood at 44%. Additionally, in those purchases with financing, the average amount of the loan-to-value was 76.1%.
