The real estate market is showing some signs of stabilization after two years on the rise. At least as far as close trades go. The purchase and sale of homes fell in June by 6.4% compared to the same month in 2022, according to the statistics on property rights transfers released yesterday by the National Institute of Statistics (INE). In the sixth month of the year, 53,999 transactions were closed, 3.8% less than in May.
The setback is caused by the fact that operations on second-hand homes fell by 9.7% in year-on-year terms, to 43,532. However, on the opposite side, the sale of new properties grew by 10.7%, reaching 10,467. Since the former represent eight out of ten transactions, the overall figure is negative. Over the course of 2023, operations on second-hand housing have already been in the negative for five months, while those affecting brand-new properties are up for the second month.
Another figure provided by the official body is that 92.3% of the 53,999 homes sold for sale in June were vacant, a total of 49,852, 6.2% less than on the same dates in 2022. A 7, 7%, for their part, were protected, with 4,147, 8.7% less. Compared to the previous month, free and protected housing fell by 4% and 1.2%, respectively.
At the territorial level, registered real estate sales fell in fourteen autonomous communities, always in a year-on-year comparison, and the biggest declines were in La Rioja (down 20.5%), Cantabria (down 18.8 % less) and Extremadura (15.8% less). In Catalonia there were 8,187 operations (5.8% less). On the contrary, transactions grew in three autonomous regions: in Navarra (by 5.1%), in Asturias (by 1.9%) and in the Valencian Community (by 1.1%).
Real estate experts don't sound the alarm bells. At least for now. The director of studies at Pisos.com, Ferran Font, does indicate that "we will have to keep an eye on inflation and the Euribor situation to analyze the evolution during the second half of the year, when it should begin to see a slight change in trend", upwards.
From Idealista, for their part, they affirm that "home buyers have not withdrawn and continue to bet on the real estate market". According to its spokesman, Beñat del Coso, we cannot talk about the "announced crisis" because demand remains strong.
Fotocasa, through its director of studies, María Matos, assures that "after two very intense years and with very positive figures for the sector, an era of normality begins" in the market. According to Matos, it would be "fair" to compare the records of 2023 with those of 2019, before the onset of the pandemic. If this is the case, sales in June would show a 30% increase, while the accumulated operations during the current semester, 315,783, would be 1% above the levels of the same pre-pandemic period.
