Spain plunges to new low

The volume of properties in Spain sold in January plunged 41 per cent year-on-year in January, according to the figures released by Spain's National Institute of Statistics...

Excluding social housing, there were 33,528 property transactions in January, compared to 56,738 in January 2008.

Annual sales fell 55 per cent in the Balearics (to 654 transactions), -54 per cent in Castellon (Costa Azahar, to 586), -53 per cent in Barcelona province (to 2,226), -52 per cent in Cadiz province (Costa de la Luz, to 804), 50 per cent in Alicante (Costa Blanca, to 2,005), and -24 per cent in the Malaga province (to 2,098 transactions).

The National Institute of Statistics' findings suggest that there will be no quick fix to the Spanish property market's problems, with demand for property in Spain evidently falling, prices plummeting, and supply increasing.

Sales of new built homes are also tumbling, down 29 per cent in January, more than double the 14 per cent fall recorded in December 2008.

Source: www.homesoverseas.co.uk/news