Home sales fall in May for the sixth consecutive month

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The real estate market has been in the black for half a year now, with home sales and mortgages in free fall . The blow of inflation and the rise in interest rates has been slow to hit real estate, but since the end of 2022 all indicators have been clicking . Home sales have continued to fall at the beginning of 2023, and in May they have already recorded 6 months of declines. May closed with 54,063 sales and purchases, around 4,000 fewer transactions, a drop of 6.7% than in May a year ago, when 57,943 home sales were recorded, according to the latest progress from the Real Estate Registry Statistics of the College of Registrars. The slowdown in sales has a very clear explanation.

In 2023, everything that could cause the real estate market to run aground is happening : fear of a recession , inflation that undermines savings and purchasing power, historic increases in interest rates and mortgages becoming more expensive at full speed. Buy a house or rent? What is worth it in each city in Spain in 2023 Two women look at housing ads "What has happened Australia Phone Number List is the most normal thing," says Gonzalo Bernardos, Professor and director of the Real Estate Master's Degree at the University of Barcelona. The winds that pushed demand to buy homes have stopped blowing and, in their place, a headwind has appeared. The lethal cocktail of economic indicators will cause sales and prices to fall, says Bernardos.



The interest rate increases in 2022 led to advance purchases throughout the year (part of the demand that was planning to buy a home brought forward the purchase to avoid too high rates), and cooled another part of the demand due to the rise in mortgage prices . The rising cost of mortgages and the tightening of credit by banks has also led to a drop in the signing of mortgage loans . In May, 32,043 loans were signed, about 10,200 less than the 42,311 loans signed in May 2022. Housing sales fall throughout the national territory except in Cantabria, where they skyrocket by 17.6%; Asturias (8.6%), Castilla y León (5.5%), Navarra (1.5%) and Andalusia.