Sales in Spain are on the up

Home sales in Spain soared by almost 50% in the first half of 2017, according to findings from estate agency Lucas Fox's half yearly Spanish property market reports.

In the first six months of 2017, the reports show sizeable increases in both the volume and value of sales transactions – up across all its regions by 47% and 55% respectively.

Compared to the same period in 2017, there was also a rise in the number of national buyers, who accounted for 38% of all sales. British buyers, meanwhile, accounted for 10% of sales – down slightly on 2016 – while 10% of sales in Spain were to buyers in the US and Canada.

In total, some 32% of Lucas Fox buyers purchased a home as an investment, while the same number bought homes as a secondary residence and 23% of buyers purchased homes as a primary residence.

During the first six months of this year, the average price of a property sold by Lucas Fox was €750,000.

Alexander Vaughan, co-founder of Lucas Fox, said the agency had experienced an “extremely successful” first half to 2017, helped by Spain's three biggest cities – Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia – as well as locations along the Barcelona coast.

“Spain's economy is the fastest growing in the Eurozone, bringing greater confidence back to the property market,” Vaughan said. “We have seen growing interest from property investors, who now regard Spanish real estate as offering excellent potential for capital gains and profitability through short and long term rentals. We expect that the price recovery now taking place in the cities will extend to the suburbs and other parts of the country in the forthcoming months.”