Madrid (EFE).- The sale of homes fell by 2% in the first quarter of the year, a period in which prices increased by 4.9% year-on-year, according to data published this Thursday by the College of Registrars.
For its part, compared to the previous quarter, sales have grown by 7.2%, while prices have fallen by 1.5%, their second consecutive quarterly adjustment, in a context marked by increases in interest rates. interest to curb inflation and the increase in the cost of financing.
Specifically, the average price in the first quarter stood at 1,921 euros/m2. In the case of used housing it was 1,873 euros/m2, 5.4% more than in 2022, and in new housing it was 2,124 euros/m2), 3.8% more.
Madrid, in the lead
The autonomous communities with the highest average prices were the Community of Madrid (3,221 euros/m2), the Balearic Islands (3,027 euros/m2), the Basque Country (2,990 euros/m2), Catalonia (2,375 euros/m2) and the Canary Islands (2,168 euros/ m2).
The provinces with the highest average prices were Guipúzcoa (3,366 euros/m2), Madrid (3,221 euros/m2), the Balearic Islands (3,027 euros/m2), Vizcaya (2,862 euros/m2) and Barcelona (2,704 euros/m2).
For their part, the provincial capitals were led by San Sebastián (5,128 euros/m2), Barcelona (4,355 euros/m2), Madrid (3,960 euros/m2), Palma (3,216 euros/m2) and Bilbao (2,887 euros/m2 ).
Sales will continue to decline
Between January and March, 161,024 home sales were registered, and it is foreseeable that the downward trend will continue.
Both used housing (130,558 sales) and new housing (30,466 sales) contributed to this behavior, with quarterly increases of 5.1% and 17.8%, respectively. However, both results have been lower than those registered in the first quarter of 2022.
The highest number of operations was reached in Andalusia (32,309); Valencian Community (25,930); Catalonia (25,438) and Community of Madrid (19,814).
The average housing surface area transmitted fell for the eighth consecutive quarter, this time by -0.9%, to 99 m2.
Foreign demand accounts for 14.5% of operations
The foreign demand for housing accounted for 14.52% of the total purchases.
The most active were the British (9.5%), Germans (7.5%), French (7.2%), Moroccans (5.4%), Italians (5.4%), Romanians (5.4 %), Belgians (5.3%) and Dutch (4.7%).
The most popular destinations were the Balearic Islands (29.2%), the Valencian Community (28.3%), the Canary Islands (28.3%), the Region of Murcia (21.4%), Catalonia (15.6%) and Andalusia (14.6%).
Mortgage drop
The number of mortgages on housing registered in the first quarter was 109,406, with a quarterly decrease of -2.4% and the average amount was 141,446 euros.
The interest rates for contracting new mortgage loans recorded a further increase to 3.09%. The average amount in fixed rate loans was 3.18% and the variable was 2.87%.
The average monthly mortgage payment was 683.5 euros and the percentage of said payment with respect to the salary cost was 32.3%.