Concerning the index’s maximum levels (2007) the housing prices accrue a drop slightly above 16%, having dropped to practically half the maximum variation reached in 2014 (-35%). Since the minimum level reached in 2014, the aggregated increase in housing prices during the last four years has been 29.78%.
According to the Estadística Registral Inmobiliaria del Colegio de Registradores (Real Estate Registered Statistics from the College of Registrars) the housing trades registered during the fourth quarter, with the year’s last quarter’s usual seasonality, have dropped 9.8% over the previous quarter, reaching 120.199, the lowest amount of 2018’s four quarters. Concerning last year’s same quarter, the housing trades increased 7.4%. During the fourth quarter there were 21.760 new housing trades, with a quarterly drop of -7.1%, and 98.439 trades in used houses, with a drop of -10.4% over the previous quarter.
The purchase of houses by foreigners during the fourth quarter increased, reaching 12.7% of the total housing purchases, above the 12.1% of the previous quarter. Although there was a slight drop in absolute terms, exceeding somewhat the 15.000 trades. For the whole of 2018 12.6% of purchases were made by foreigners, with almost 65.000 operations.
By nationaliy, the British remain at the head of foreign demand, with 16.6% of foreign purchases, followed by the Germans (7.7%), French (7.4%), Belgians (5.8%), Italians (5.1%) and Swedish (5%).