Spanish home sales up 60pc

Photo credit: Kevin Poh

Is Spain's housing recovery finally here? In short, no.

The statistics from the General Council of Notaries show that sales of property in Spain soared 59.2 per cent in January 2014 annually. Combined with an 8.9 per cent climb in values, the figures appear to suggest that the market has improved in leaps and bounds.

The truth, though, stems from one year ago. At the end of 2012, a period of tax deduction came to a close. The measure, designed to spur on sales during the country's major slump, did just that. After the discounts ended, though, sales that had been fast-tracked to take advantage of the offer left January with fewer transactions. Year-on-year, then, January 2014's sales figures are improving upon a very low base.

Figures from the INE, meanwhile paint a dramatically different picture, with sales plunging 23 per cent in January year-on-year - a discrepancy resulting from the INE's figures, which tally up title deeds registered at the start of 2014, made up of sales from previous months.

The Notaries, though, suggest that there is "a stabilisation in the monthly sales figures", hinting at positive momentum starting to build. Indeed, data from valuation firm Tinsa shows that Spain's declining house prices are beginning to slow down, with values falling 7.9 per cent in February.

Coastal properties suffered the biggest decline; good news for property investors looking for bargain holiday homes. Indeed, a report by CBRE recently ranked Spain as one of the most appealing for overseas buyers, with 70 per cent highlighting Western Europe as "the world's most attractive region for real estate investment".

"Spain has become an oasis for foreign investors, who between 2009 and 2013 bought property totaling just over €9.6 billion according to a study by Real Capital Analytics," says Marc Pritchard, Sales and Marketing Manager for Spanish house builder Taylor Wimpey España. "This puts Spain in tenth position globally for attracting foreign investment."

Indeed, a separate report from the General Council shows that foreign purchases of Spanish property climbed 9.8 per cent in 2013.

Ignore the dramatically unreliable sales figures and the recovery is far from underway, but the market's decline may be coming to an end. There may be something to celebrate after all.