The war in Ukraine, inflation, and other supply issues are all ignored by the real estate industry. March saw a 25.6% increase in home sales compared to a year ago. There were 59,272 registered operations. This figure is the highest since January 2008, when the housing bubble was in full swing. It also represents the best monthly figure in March 2007, according the National Institute of Statistics (INE).
It has now achieved 13 consecutive months of growth and five months of above 50,000 transactions despite the uncertainty surrounding the economy. This milestone was not reached since 2008, when the Great Recession began. Although there are many similarities between the two periods, one characteristic distinguishes them and distances the threat from another real estate boom: this time, the strong rise is mainly due to the sale of secondhand houses, and not new construction, which are rare and far below the levels of 2008.
So, more than 80 percent of March’s homes were second-hand (47.762 transactions, an unprecedented figure since January 2007), while new homes represented less than 20%. In fact, there were only 11,510 operations, which are at 2014 levels. The increase in used sales is double that of new ones, 28.3% to 15.7%.
Francisco Inareta, the idealista spokesperson, stated that these data show the sector’s “strength”. He also explained that signs of rising mortgage prices could have accelerated many home purchases in an effort to offset the imminent rise rate announced earlier by the European Central Bank.
Maria Matos (Director of Studies, spokesperson for Fotocasa) does not fear the impact of war and inflation on this sector. Maria Matos believes that the war and inflation in this sector can make the investment appetite of people attracted to housing as a refuge value, just like it did after the pandemic.
According to INE data, 92.1% of homes sold in March were free homes, and 7.9% were protected. The March sale of free homes increased by 26.5%, reaching 54,614 transactions, while the number of protected homes increased 15.6% to 4,658.
Seven of the ten March home sales (69.2%), were between natural persons.
