The slowdown in the real estate market is increasingly felt, although the moderation in the sector is being felt more in the number of transactions than in the price evolution itself. According to data from notaries, loans for the purchase of housing fell by 26.4% in March compared to the same period of the previous year, to a total of 27,192 transactions. The decline – more pronounced than the 24% recorded in February – coincides with a period of maximum uncertainty with the onset of the US banking crisis, which raised alarms about an accelerated credit contraction among banks that don’t want anything that smacks of risk. the data shows this to be the case, as evidenced by the Bank of Spain’s latest bank lending surveys, which reflect how demand for mortgages has plummeted as entities become increasingly demanding in their requirements to provide loans to customers. The industry’s goal is to keep default rates under control as much as possible, as it has been so far, in a complicated scenario for Spanish households, who have been juggling for months to adjust their budgets to the rise in inflation and now have to deal with the rise of the Euribor in this cycle of rising interest rates. The indicator most mortgages in Spain refer to increased in March (the last month to include notary statistics) to 3.647%. In April, the average was 3.757%. And in the daily rate it already exceeds 3.84%. This not only means a sharp increase in the terms of the variable mortgages that are now being reviewed, but also more expensive new loans on the market. Number of transactions The rise in mortgage prices is one of the reasons for the slowdown in the number of sales. Specifically, these re-registered operations fell 11.7% in March to 63,661 units, according to data from notaries. The average price per square meter was € 1,580/m², a decrease of 2.6%. By housing type, apartment sales fell 11.2% to 49,263 units, while sales of single-family homes fell 13.4% year over year to 14,397 units. Prices of apartments fell by 2.6% compared to the same month of the previous year, reaching €1,746/m², while the price of single-family homes averaged €1,276/m², representing a decrease of 2.7% According to autonomy Ten communities recorded an increase in house prices and a decrease in the remaining seven. In order of magnitude, increases of more than 5% were recorded in the Canary Islands (9.5%), La Rioja (6.7%), the Valencian Community (6.3%), Castilla y León (5.9% ), Aragon (5.9%), Madrid (5.2%) and Murcia (5.2%). Less than 5% but still positive were the increases in Galicia (4.7%), Catalonia (2.4%) and Andalusia (0.5%). On the other hand, house prices fell in Cantabria (-7.7%), the Basque Country (-6.2%), the Balearic Islands (-6.1%), Navarre (-1.5%), Castilla-La Mancha ( -1.5% ), Extremadura (-1.2%) and Asturias (-0.5%).
Source: La Verdad
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
