The latest data once again confirm a trend that began to be seen a few months ago: that the rise in credit prices and the effects of inflation on citizens' pockets are cooling the real estate market. In July, 5,800 fewer home sales were recorded than in the same month of the previous year, up to 45,630 operations, which represents a decrease of 11.4%, according to the statistics published today by the College of Registrars.
This is the fifth consecutive decline and the most pronounced since the decline in this type of transactions began last February. The slowdown in total sales began a few months earlier, in September 2022, and although they rose slightly for two consecutive months, they fell again in December, when the most significant drop of the period was recorded (13.3%). And, since then, they have not stopped going down.
In absolute numbers, 87,674 sales and purchases were registered in July, 8.8% less than in the same month of the previous year. Added to this is the negative evolution of mortgage creation for half a year. In July, the decrease was 19.7%, registering 36,356 operations. A trend similar to that experienced by the number of mortgage loans for housing, which have suffered a reduction of 6,400 operations in one year, to the current 27,693, 18.8% less.
By province, sales have gone down in almost all territories, with the exception of Murcia and Asturias, where they increased by 3% and 2.1%, respectively. The most intense falls occurred in Galicia (-17.8%), Navarra (-17.4%), Melilla (-15.9%) and Madrid (-13.1%). While in terms of mortgages constituted, the greatest decreases were registered in Cantabria (-38.1%), Melilla (-37%), Galicia (-36.3%), La Rioja (-28.8%), Castilla- La Mancha (-27.4%) and Catalonia (-24.2%). They only increased in the Balearic Islands (13.6%).
The slowdown in sales and mortgages contrasts with the rise in housing prices, which have been experiencing consecutive increases for 37 months. According to the latest data from the National Institute of Statistics (INE), prices rose 3.6% year-on-year in the second quarter, a rate that is one tenth higher than that of the previous quarter. For its part, the appraiser Tinsa estimates that the average value of the home in August was 5.3% higher than the same month last year, although there was a decrease of 0.1% compared to July, which which confirms, according to the appraiser, the trend towards price stabilization.
