Housing sales remain below last year, although the drop has been reduced to 11% in October, according to transmission figures published this Friday by the INE. It is half the 24% reduction seen in September, a month that was especially negative. Except in January, decreases have been recorded in all months.
The rise in mortgage prices, the sales boom in 2022 and prices that still remain high disrupt activity this year. In the tenth month of the year, 45,903 homes changed hands, 4% more than the previous month, although in the accumulated annual figure there is a decline of 9%.
The bulk of the homes sold are used, with 81% of the total. There were 37,056 properties, 13.5% less than last year. New housing achieves positive rates, with an increase of 0.8% over 2022, with 8,847 units. In any case, both categories point to a year of declines, since they accumulate a drop of 10% and 4% respectively in the first ten months of the year.
By autonomies, only six registered more sales than last year, led by the 10.1% increase in Navarra and its 612 homes. This is followed by a 7% increase in Extremadura (982 homes) and 3.4% in Asturias (949).
On the opposite side, the greatest decreases are for the Balearic Islands, with a drop of 30% and 1,013 homes, Cantabria (25.4% and 552 homes) or the Canary Islands (20.5% and 1,736 homes). The decrease is also notable in Andalusia, of 18% with 8,894 homes, or Catalonia, with 11.5% down and 7,274 homes transferred.
In other points with a good volume of transactions, Madrid sees its data drop by 9%, with 5,867 homes transferred.
The INE data also reveal a growth in housing inheritances of 6%, up to 16,355. Andalusia is where the most change hands due to inheritance, with 2,766 homes, compared to the 2,472 in Catalonia or the 2,362 in the Valencian Community.
