In the fourth term of 2016 126,516 houses were sold in Spain, 10% more than in the fourth term of 2015. To find another fourth trimester with more transactions, it is necessary to go back to the year 2010 (150,494), a financial year with its growth distorted by the end of the tax relief for house purchase.
On analysis on the performance of house purchases carried out in 2016, all the autonomous communities recorded increases in respect of 2015. The largest price rises were reported in Cataluña, the Balearics, Madrid, Asturias and the Comunidad Valenciana, with annual increases of 23%, 22.3%, 17.2%, 16.9% and 14% respectively.
In relation to the nationality of the buyer, transactions by foreign residents in Spain showed a year on year growth for the twenty-second consecutive trimester, specifically 9.5% compared to the fourth trimester of 2015, totalling
19,922 sales. Thus, purchases by non-resident foreigners rose to 884 during the trimester. Together, the purchases carried out by foreigners (residents and non-residents) came to 20,806, that is, 16.4% of the total.
By province, those registering the largest numbers of sales involving foreign residents were Alicante (4,391), Málaga (2,286), Barcelona (1,801), Madrid (1,600), and the Balearics (1,531).