HOME property sales in Spain reached 650,000 in 2022, the biggest total recorded since 2007 when nearly 780,000 residences were sold.
The National Institute of Statistics(INE) figures showed a 14.7% rise in sales on the previous year despite a 10.2% annual fall in December caused by rising interest rates and increasing financing costs.
With the exception of 2020, which was an untypical year due to the pandemic, house sales have exceeded 500,000 annually in Spain since 2018.
Used homes accounted for 532,459 sales in the 2022 total.
The INE report says the Valencian Community was the busiest mainland region for properties per 100,000 people behind the Canaries and Balearics.
The area had 99,448 sales- up by 23.9% on the previous year, with most of the deals struck in Alicante Province, which continues to attract foreign home buyers.
The region with the largest number of purchases was Andalucia with 135,976, followed by Catalunya with 102,108, with the Valencian Community in third place.
The only region to record a fall in house sales was Navarra.