Home sales skyrocket in the province to 58% and is approaching pre-pandemic levels

The real estate activity in the province of Alicante is reactivating parallel to the end of mobility restrictions. And it is that home sales soared 58% in June, to 2,719, which has allowed us to get closer to the figures that were handled before the pandemic. The largest number of operations are related to second homes. In fact, the increase in demand on the Costa Blanca has been decisive for the Valencian Community to lead sales per inhabitant in Spain.

The province of Alicante registered 3,150 home sale transactions in June 2019, before the pandemic. The 2,719 formalized now represent 13% less.

The National Institute of Statistics (INE ) published yesterday the data corresponding to the sale of homes in June. In the case of the province of Alicante, 2,719 transactions were carried out, which is 58% more than the previous year, at a very difficult time due to the health crisis. Although the prepandemic levels have not yet been reached, the truth is that they are already beginning to approach, taking into account that in June 2019 there were 3,105 sales made.

Much of the real estate activity is related to second homes on the Costa Blanca. In fact, this rebound in this Alicante tourist area is contributing decisively to the Valencian Community leading the sale of homes per inhabitant in Spain , after an increase of 86%. The INE statistics specify that the communities with the highest number of transmissions per 100,000 inhabitants are Valencian with 163, Madrid with 150 and Andalusia with 148.

The Valencian Community leads the number of sales per 100,000 inhabitants with 163, followed by Madrid with 150 and Andalusia with a total of 148

Real estate agencies have found that the deadline for closing operations is being shortened, which is one of the indicators that reflects the state of the market. Cristina Recasens , director of Recasens Real Estate, explains that “buyers decide much faster. There is a change in mentality. Before, an apartment could be for sale for six months, but now the operations are closed much earlier.

One of the keys to the moment in which the real estate sector is living is the return of foreign buyers , who could not enter the Community until the lifting of the perimeter closure in May. Transactions, as mentioned, have skyrocketed on the Costa Blanca and the province of Valencia after the 30% collapse of this segment of the market registered last year. Real estate companies assure that international market operations will exceed those before the pandemic in 2019 at the end of the year. Belgians, French and Dutch dominate international purchases. The foreign market is essential for the Valencian real estate sector.

From the Provincial Association of Real Estate Promoters of the Province of Alicante (Provia), its secretary, Jesualdo Ros , highlights that in reality the interest in buying homes during the pandemic has not declined significantly. "What happens is that, due to mobility restrictions, buyers could not move, and it has been taking longer to formalize the contracts."

The data published yesterday by the National Institute of Statistics reveal that throughout Spain the year-on-year increase in sales was 73.5% to add 48,201 operations. With the month-on-month advance in June, home sales had four consecutive months of positive rates after increases of 32.4% and 65.9% registered respectively in March and April and 107.6% in May. In absolute values, Andalusia was the region that carried out the most housing transactions in June with 9,945 purchases, followed by Madrid (7,998), Catalonia (7,151) and the Valencian Community (6,537).

The price drop also benefits transactions

Another factor that has influenced the acceleration of the market is the fall in the price of housing. The appraisers have certified the general drop in the prices of flats in the three Valencian provinces. A report from the appraisal and valuation company Euroval specifies that the price of housing is going to fall this year by 1.5% in Valencia, 0.3% in Alicante and 4.5% in Castellón.

However, from the Provincial Association of Real Estate Developers of the Province of Alicante ( Provia ), they emphasize that the decrease, in reality, is occurring in second-hand homes, since construction costs are becoming more expensive.

https://www.informacion.es/economia/2021/08/06/venta-viviendas-dispara-provincia-58-56000361.html