Spain’s Housing Sales Fall 2.6% in First Quarter of 2026

Housing transactions in Spain lost momentum at the start of 2026, with fewer than 178,500 homes sold between January and March, representing a 2.6% year-on-year decline, according to data from the National Statistics Institute (INE). The slowdown follows three consecutive months of falling sales activity, highlighting growing pressure on the country’s residential property market.

New-build homes recorded the sharpest decline during the quarter, dropping 5.3% to fewer than 40,500 transactions. The segment was particularly affected in March, when sales of newly built properties plunged by more than 10% compared with the same month in 2025. Meanwhile, resale properties proved more resilient, slipping just 1.8% in the first three months of the year while still accounting for more than 138,000 transactions nationwide.

Regional performance largely mirrored the national trend, although several areas stood out. Catalonia was among the strongest-performing major markets, posting a 1.1% annual increase with more than 30,000 homes sold during the quarter. Only Andalusia recorded a higher volume of transactions, exceeding 36,500 sales while remaining almost stable year-on-year with a marginal decline of just 0.1%.

Elsewhere, the Valencian Community saw housing sales fall 3% annually to below 27,000 units by the end of March. Madrid experienced one of the steepest drops among the country’s largest markets, with transactions falling more than 8.3% compared with the first quarter of 2025, pushing total sales below 20,000 operations.

Among smaller regional markets, notable declines were recorded in Murcia (-10.9%), Cantabria (-10.3%), the Canary Islands (-9.6%), and the Balearic Islands (-7.5%). In contrast, Navarra led growth with a 15.7% increase, while La Rioja (+1.1%) and Aragón (+0.8%) also posted modest gains.

March alone saw housing transactions decline 2.2% year-on-year to 61,295 operations, once again weighed down by weak demand for new homes. Sales of newly built properties fell by 10.2% to 13,057 units, while transactions involving existing homes edged up 0.2% to 48,238.

Christian Boesen, CEO for homes-abroad, said the figures point to “a third consecutive month of declining year-on-year sales volumes, which could indicate a market turning point or at least a stabilization in buyer demand at the national level.” He added that rising property prices in the most dynamic markets, together with higher financing costs, appear to be discouraging buyers and may lead to a medium-term stabilization in housing prices. In the country’s most active markets, including Catalonia, declining transaction volumes have now continued for eight consecutive months.

Despite the broader slowdown, March represented the strongest month of the year so far, marking the first time in 2026 that monthly housing transactions exceeded 60,000. Compared with February, overall sales rose 2.7%, driven by a 5.1% increase in transactions involving existing homes, while new-home sales fell a further 5.4%.