Property sales in Catalonia increased by 13% in April 2014, compared with 5.3% Spanish average
The sale of homes in Catalonia rose 13.1% this April, compared with the same month last year, according to the Spanish Statistics Institute (INE). April 2014 saw the sale of 3,724 properties in Catalonia, 3,334 of which were free (89.5%) and 390 protected (10.5%). Of these transactions, 32% corresponded to newly-built flats and 68% were of existing homes. Across Spain, sales have increased by 5.3% in annual terms, with a total of 24,968 transactions registered. Thus, Catalonia sits comfortably above the Spanish average, but was surpassed by eight other Autonomous Communities, including the Basque Country, Cantabria and the Balearic Islands, where purchases increased by 48.8%, 41 6% and 28.5%, respectively.
Barcelona (ACN.) - The sale of homes in Catalonia rose 13.1% this April, compared with the same month last year, according to the Spanish Statistics Institute (INE). April 2014 saw the sale of 3,724 properties in Catalonia, 3,334 of which were free (89.5%) and 390 protected (10.5%). Of these transactions, 32% corresponded to new flats and 68% were of existing homes. Across Spain, sales have increased by 5.3% annually, with a total of 24,968 transactions. Thus, Catalonia sits comfortably above the Spanish average, but was surpassed by eight Autonomous Communities, including the Basque Country, Cantabria and the Balearic Islands, where purchases increased by 48.8%, 41 6% and 28.5%, respectively. These figures tend to confirm that the real estate market in Catalonia is recovering.
In addition to the 3,724 homes purchased in Catalonia, 170 were transferred as a donation, and 15 were exchanged. 2,067 homes were inherited and 2,466 were acquired through other methods. In all, a total of 8,442 homes were acquired. Across Spain, as many as 51,788 properties changed hands, of which 24,968 were sold, 1,147 donated, 89 exchanged, 10, 735 inherited and 14, 849 passed on through other methods.
Between the four Catalan Provinces, the sale of homes increased in Barcelona, Girona (where the Costa Brava is located) and Tarragona (which hosts the Costa Daurada), but decreased in Lleida (western Catalonia). Specifically, in Barcelona, there were 2,510 transactions in April, representing a 22.5% increase on April 2013, while in Girona and Tarragona sales increased by 2.6% and 2.2%, respectively. By contrast, in the Province of Lleida, the sale of homes fell by 23.7%, from 232 operations in April 2013, to 177 in April this year.
The statistics for April 2014 are not quite as pleasing as those for March, which saw Catalan housing sales increase by 42.8% compared with March of last year, and an increase of 22.8% across the rest of Spain. Nonetheless, they demonstrate that the housing market in Catalonia is continuing to recover and is growing again.