The number of Spanish homes changing hands increased significantly in January, the latest figures show.

Data from the Association of Spanish Notaries reveal that the number of properties sold increased by 16.8% on the same period last year.

A total of 33,670 properties were sold in January, but while this represents a major increase on January 2016, it was a more modest 12% rise when corrected for seasonality.

Spanish property prices also rose by 1.8% with the average property now costing €1,355sqm (£1,174), but that figure does not really tell us much about house price data in Spain, mainly because it is “so unreliable”, according to Mark Stucklin, a Barcelona-based property market analyst and consultant.

“The housing market really did get off to a good start of the year, according to the latest data from the Association of Spanish Notaries,” he said.

Separate figures from the National Institute of Statistics show that Spanish property sales inscribed in the Land Registry increased by 19% in January.

Stucklin added: “Those figures are based on sales that took place a few months before, say between October and December, whilst the Notaries’ figures are based on sales witnessed in January, so their figures are timelier, and give us a more up-to-date pictured.

“Whichever figures you look at, the picture is one of a sustained recovery in Spanish home sales and mortgage lending, with house prices rising in hot markets like Barcelona, Madrid, and the Balearics.”