Home sales in Catalonia up by 5% in 2013 while they decrease in Spain
Housing sales in Catalonia have reached 45,064 units in 2013, representing a 4.8% increase on the previous year, according to data published on Wednesday by the Spanish Statistics Institute (INE). Such figures are the highest since 2010, when 55,857 transactions were registered. Besides, in monthly terms, in December 2013, there were 3,014home sales in Catalonia, amounting to a 2.6% increase on the same month last year. At Spanish level, residential property transactions dropped to 311,414 in 2013, meaning a 2.2% decrease. The December figures reveal a similar trend, with the number of sales falling to 22,723 units in the entire country, a 3.6% decrease compared to the same month last year.
Madrid (ACN).- Housing sales in Catalonia have reached 45,064 units in 2013, representing a 4.8% increase on the previous year, according to data published on Wednesday by the Spanish Statistics Institute (INE). Such figures are the highest since 2010, when 55,857 transactions were registered. Besides, in monthly terms, in December 2013, there were 3,014 home sales in Catalonia, amounting to a 2.6% increase on the same month last year. At Spanish level, residential property transactions dropped to 311,414 in 2013, meaning a 2.2% decrease. The December figures reveal a similar trend, with the number of sales falling to 22,723 units in the entire country, a 3.6% decrease compared to the same month last year.
In yearly terms, Catalonia registered the third most significant growth of all the Autonomous Community, only surpassed by the Canaries (+13.5%) and Murcia (+6.4%). On the other hand, Asturias (-24.2%) and the Basque Country (-18.3%) registered the sharpest drops in their number of home sales.
While home sales have grown in Catalonia, Spain as a whole registered a third consecutive year of decrease although the latest 2.2% drop is milder than the 11.5% and 18.1% decreases experienced in 2012 and 2011 respectively.
Decreases for newly-built property sales
In Catalonia, newly-built property sales decreased by 6.4% compared to 2012, falling to 15,541 transactions. Meanwhile, sales of existing properties rose by 11.8% to reach 29,523 transactions.
At Spanish level, in 2013, newly-built property sales fell by 6.8% compared to 2012, amounting to 145,241 transactions, while second-hand sales rose by 2.2% after two years of decreases, reaching 166,173 transactions