​Home sales and mortgage firms continue to rise in October

Despite the fact that growth has slowed down since spring, in both cases the year-on-year rise exceeds that registered in September

The housing market continues to show year-on-year growth, despite the economic context. According to the Real Estate Registry Statistics published by the College of Registrars, both home sales and mortgage signings have rebounded in October.

Specifically, in the tenth month of the year, 48,745 home transactions were recorded, 9.7% more than in the same month of the previous year. And 38,684 mortgages were registered in the registers, 13% more year-on-year. Despite the fact that the upward trend has been moderating since May, in both cases the year-on-year rise exceeds that registered in September.

Advance data suggests that only four autonomies have registered a drop in home sales compared to October 2021. The most pronounced decline has been in the Balearic Islands, with -20.9%; followed by Rioja (-11.8%); Castilla-La Mancha (-1.5%) and Cantabria (-0.7%). On the other hand, the greatest year-on-year rises in operations have occurred in the Canary Islands (+35.1%), Extremadura (+25.5%), the Basque Country (+21.4%) and the Valencian Community (+17.7% ).

The Association of Registrars emphasizes that, analyzing the data for total sales and housing, "a better resistance in housing sales" can be seen, since its growth in October was more significant than that experienced by the total sales (89,842 units, with an increase of 1.6% year-on-year). "The general trend for 2022 is for a slight slowdown in increases, already below two digits in both modalities," he points out.

In the case of home mortgages, the year-on-year increase is higher than that of sales. According to registry statistics, loans for home purchase have grown by 13% year-on-year in the tenth month of the year, to a total of 38,684, "accelerating the growth experienced in September by 10 points," he stresses.

Only three regions have registered a setback in the number of mortgages: Castilla-La Mancha (-28.6%); Murcia (-6.5%) and Castilla y León (-4.2%), while the communities with the highest increases compared to October 2021 have been the Canary Islands (+47.7%); Basque Country (+39.8%) and Aragon (+38%).

As is the case with sales, total mortgages have registered a rise of 9.9% year-on-year in October, reaching 51,241, less than that of loans for home purchase. However, the increase experienced in the tenth month of the year contrasts with the year-on-year decline in September, when mortgages fell by 1.2%.

Thus, the Association of Registrars points out that, for the moment, mortgages maintain "greater resistance" than purchases, and concludes that "housing seem to have a better performance, keeping the rates of variation between dwellings and totals closer to what is observed in the sales".