Sales of flats in Catalonia up by 8.7%, far above Spanish average

BarcelonaThe sales of flats in Catalonia rose by 8.7% in February, far above the Spanish average, where housing sales grew by only 1.2%, according to data published on Monday by Spain’s National Institute for Statistics (INE).

According to the INE figures, 6,062 housing units were sold in February in Catalonia, which represents an increase of 8.7% over the same month last year. In Spain as a whole, 35,610 units were sold, a 1.2% increase from 2016.

Catalonia is the Spanish region with the second-most housing units sold, behind only Andalusia with 6,605 homes, and ahead of Valencia (5,426) and the Madrid Community (5,316). In addition, Catalonia saw the third highest increase in sales at 8.7%, exceeded only by La Rioja (14.9%), and Castilla y León (9.9%).

In Spain as a whole, 97 housing units were sold for every 100,000 inhabitants. The region with the highest proportion was Valencia, with 139 units sold per 100,000 inhabitants, followed by the Balearic Islands with 118 units, and Catalonia and Madrid, both with 105 units sold per 100,000.

Second-hand housing sales continue to be the main drivers of the market. Of the 6,062 units sold in Catalonia, 5,281 were second-hand, or 87% of the total, whereas only 781 units were brand new.

In Spain as a whole, a total of 29,171 (almost 82%) of the 35,610 housing units sold were second-hand homes, while 6,439 were new housing (18.1%).