The results of statistics on residential property transactions made before a notary, released on Friday by the Ministry of Development, show that in the second quarter of 2012, 80,235 homes were sold in Spain, which represents an increase of 15.6% over the previous quarter.
In the period between June 2011 and June 2012, the number of notarised residential property transactions amounted to 333,562.
The figure recorded in the second quarter of 2012 represents a decrease of 11.6% compared to the same period of 2011.
In relation to the territorial distribution, two regions recorded positive annual variations, the Canary Islands and Valencia, with increases of 1.4% and 0.2% respectively, while at the opposite extreme were the declines recorded for Cantabria (-36.3%), the Basque Country (-31.1%), Navarra (-30.0%) and Madrid (-28.9%).
Eight provinces registered growth, led by Lleida, with an increase of 28.1%, followed by Segovia, with 27.2%, and Alicante and Las Palmas both with an increase of 4.7%. At the opposite end stood Viscaya with a decline of 44%, followed by Melilla, León, Navarra and Ciudad Real, all with falls of around 30%.
The municipalities which recorded the highest number of sales were Madrid (4,282), Barcelona (2,238), Zaragoza (1,228), Valencia (1,128) and Seville (1,054).
Highlighted for growth among the provincial capitals and municipalities with more than 100,000 inhabitants are Getafe (322.9%), Segovia (125.7%), Toledo (109.9%), Badajoz (55.6%), Cáceres (46.6%), and Cordoba (29.0%). As for the largest declines, these were registered in Torrejón de Ardoz (-68.1%), Alcorcón (-62.5%), Móstoles (-58.7%), Fuenlabrada (-55.5%), Bilbao (-46.3%) and Tarragona (-40.2%).
Free housing transactions in the second quarter of 2012 amounted to 72,723, representing 90.6% of the total, while protected housing transactions in this period amounted to 7,512, representing 9.4% of the total.
Transactions for new housing amounted to 23,540, representing 29.3% of the total, while second-hand housing, with 56,695 transactions, recorded a fall of 5.7% year-on-year but an increase of 9.4% compared to the first quarter of 2012.
With regard to the nationality of the buyer, La Moncloa reported that transactions made by foreign residents in Spain experienced growth for the fourth consecutive quarter, namely by 12.1% compared to the second quarter of 2011, with a total of 9,502 sales.
By province, those which registered a higher number of purchases by foreign residents, were Alicante (2,645), Málaga (1,127), Barcelona (847), Santa Cruz de Tenerife (655) and the Balearic Islands (536).
According to data released on Monday by the EU statistics office, Eurostat, the economy of the eurozone, and the European Union as a whole, shrank 0.2% in the second quarter compared with the first three months of 2012, when growth was zero in both zones.
In annual terms, GDP in the eurozone fell 0.4% in the second quarter compared to the same period of 2011, and that of the whole of the European Union fell by 0.2%.
The Spanish economy suffered a decline of 0.4% in the second quarter over the first quarter, and 1.0% when comparing the evolution of GDP with the same period last year.
In the second quarter of the year at least eight EU countries were in recession – there is no data available yet for them all – among them some of the largest euro economies such as Italy (with a fall of 0.7%, and 0.8% in the previous period) and Spain, with three consecutive quarters of declines.
The UK is also in recession, since its GDP contracted 0.7% in the reference period, and which now marks three consecutive quarters of negative developments.
Of the rescued countries Greece and Portugal are in recession (no data is available yet for Ireland).
In addition Cyprus, who has called on the eurozone and the International Monetary Fund for a complete rescue, accumulated four negative quarters, registering a fall of 0.8% in their GDP in the second quarter.
Romania, on the other hand, managed to emerge from recession by posting a slight increase of 0.5% between April and June, compared to the declines of 0.1% and 0.2% in the immediately preceding quarters.
Surprisingly, El Mundo reported that Finland’s economy declined by 1.0% between April and June after rising 0.8% in the first quarter. The best result was recorded by Sweden, boosting the European economy with a growth of 1.4%.
Belgium suffered the consequences of the crisis with its economy contracting by 0.6% in the second quarter, after growing 0.2% in the first, while the GDP of France remained stalled, and Germany’s rose by 0.3%.
This is according to new figures released by the National Institute of Statistics (INE) which shows that 30% of those made bankrupt during Q2 were construction and property development companies, confirming the sector is a long way from recovering.
Bankruptcy Proceedings Statistics – Second quarter of 2012
During the second quarter of 2012, the number of debtors processed reached 2,272, representing a 28.6% increase, as compared with the same period the previous year.
By type of proceeding, 2,111 were voluntary (27.1% more than the second quarter 2011) and 161 were necessary (51.9% more). Considering the type of proceedings, ordinary proceedings increased 270.6%, and abbreviated proceedings increased 7.3%.
Companies processed, by legal nature and turnover bracket
Of the 2,272 debtors processed in the second quarter, 2,026 were companies (individuals with business activity and corporations). 77.3% of the companies declared bankrupt were Private Limited Companies.
69.0% of the companies declared bankrupt were within the lowest turnover bracket (less than two million euros), and were mainly Private Limited Companies.
87.8% of companies declared bankrupt during the first quarter of 2012 did not belong to any business group. Of the remaining companies declared bankrupt, 11.9% belonged to a Spanish group, and 0.3% to a group under foreign control.
Companies declared bankrupt, by economic activity and number of employees
30.8% of companies declared bankrupt carried out their main activity in Construction and property development, 18.3% in Industry and energy, and 17.4% in Trade.
Regarding the number of employees, 33.7% of the total number of companies declared bankupt were within the bracket of 1 to 5 employees.
According to the latest figures released by the National Institute of Statistics unemployment in Spain increased slightly to 24.63% during the second quarter of 2012.
The INE summarise the main points as follows:
Employment in the second quarter of 2012 registers a decrease of 15,900 persons, reaching a total of 17,417,300 employed persons. The quarter on quarter employment variation rate stands at –0.09%.
The economically active population increases by 37,600 persons this quarter. The number of unemployed increases by 53,500 persons, standing at 5,693,500.
The unemployment rate grows 19 hundredths, standing at 24.63%. In turn, the activity rate rises at 60.08%. This quarter, the loss of employment increases 70,000 persons among men, whilst decreases in 16,400 among women.
The employment increases 14,600 among women, whilst decreases 30,600 among men.
Employment increases in 42,800 persons in Services and in 6,200 in Construction. The employed persons decreased 44,000 in Agriculture and 21,000 in Industry.
Wage-earners with a permanent contract increase by 4,400, and wage-earners with a temporary contract do so by 18,300.
The number of households with all of their active members unemployed increases by 9,300 this quarter, standing at 1,737,600.
By Autonomous Community, the unemployment rate fluctuates between 14.56% in País Vasco and 33.92% in Andalucía. The activity rate fluctuates between 52.50%, recorded in Principado de Asturias, and 67.54%, registered in Illes Balears.
The Autonomous Communities that most increases their employment are: Illes Balears (60,400 persons), Comunidad de Madrid (7,500), Región de Murcia (6,800), Castilla y León (5,600) and Comunitat Valenciana (4,900). In contrast, the Autonomous Communities that registered the greatest decreases in employment this quarter were: Andalucia (23,300 fewer employed persons), Castilla – La Mancha (19,500 fewer), Cataluña (19,100), Galicia (16,800) and Canarias (12,400).
The greatest decreases in unemployment persons are registered in Illes Balears and Cataluña. In turn, Andalucía, Castilla – La Mancha, País Vasco, Comunidad de Madrid and Galicia registered the greatest increases in the number of unemployed persons.
Economically active population and activity rate
The economically active population experienced a decrease of 37,600 persons in the second quarter of 2012. The number of economically active persons stood at 23,110,400 persons. In interannual terms, the number of economically active persons decreased by 26,400 persons.
The general activity rate increased 14 hundredths, up to 60.08%. The female activity rate remained at 53.35%, while the male rate increased 29 hundredths and reached 67.15%.
The general activity rate of Spaniards rose 27 hundredths, while the rate of foreign nationals decreased 73 hundredths, this quarter. The distance between the activity rates of Spaniards and foreign nationals exceeded 17 points, in favour of the latter, this circumstance being explained by the different age structures of both populations.
Employment
The number of employed persons decreased by 15,900 persons in the second quarter of 2012, standing at 17,417,300. The interannual employment variation rate stood at –0.09%.
The drop in employment affected men (30,600 employment fewer) exceeds the increase in the occupation of women (14,600 employment fewer). By nationality, the number of employed foreign nationals increased by 9,100, while that of Spaniards decreased by 25,000.
By age, employment grew in persons older than 54 years old in 49,900 persons. The greatest decreases were observed in men between 40-44 and 25-29 years old (23,700 and 21,900 fewer respectively), Among women, the group of 20-24 years old experienced the greatest drop (11.500).
The number of employed persons increased in Services, registered 42,800 more employed persons and Construction with 6,200. The employment decreased in Industry (21,000 fewer) and Agriculture (44,000 fewer).
The increase in the number of employers this second quarter (15,000 more employers) did not compensate for the decrease in independent workers (12,900 fewer) and in the remaining self-employed workers (2,600).
The number of wage earners decreased by 13,900. Those with a permanent contract decreased by 4,400, while the number of wage earners with temporary contracts decreased 18,300. The temporary employment rate decreased one tenth, standing at 23.66%.
Part-time employment increased by 94,300 persons this quarter, whilst full-time employed persons decreased by 110,300. The percentage of persons working part-time increased more than half point, up to 14.93%.
The interannual variation of employment was –4.48%, almost nine tenths lower than that registered the previous quarter. Employment experienced a decrease of 885,800 persons in one year, 895,200 of whom were wage-earners and 10,100 of whom were self-employed workers.
The drop in the interannual employment among men (570,100 fewer) were higher than those women (315,700).
Unemployment and unemployment rate
The increase in unemployment was 53,500 this quarter, standing at 5,693,100. In the last 12 months, the total figure of unemployed persons increased by 859,400 persons.
The unemployment rate rose 19 hundredths, as compared with the first quarter of 2012, standing at 24.63%.
The male unemployment rate increased 48 hundredths, up to 24.57%, whilst the female rate decreased 15 hundredths, and stood at 24.71%. The composition of unemployment observed since the year 2008 remained, with relatively little distance between the male and female rates, and a greater number of unemployed men than unemployed women.
By nationality, the unemployment increased 113,300 among Spaniards and decreased 59,700 among foreign nationals. The unemployment rate for the foreign population was 35.76%, 13 points higher than that of persons with Spanish nationality.
Unemployment decreased in Construction (40,500 fewer) and in Services (84,500 fewer). In contrast, unemployment increased in Industry (23,500 more) and in Agriculture (11,400 more). Unemployment also increased among those persons who lost their job over a year ago (107,400 more), and among those seeking their first job (by 36,100).
The number of unemployed persons increased in all sectors in the last 12 months.
House prices in Spain fell during the second quarter by 11.5% compared to the same period in the previous year, up from 9.2% in the previous quarter.
The report, from Tinsa, shows that the majority of the autonomous regions followed the downward trend with La Rioja recording the greatest fall of 22.6%, bringing the prices back to 2003 levels. Catalonia followed with an 18% decline, followed by Aragon (-16.3%), Valencia (-14%), Castilla-La Mancha (-13.8%) and Madrid (-13.8%).
Staying within a few points of the national average were Castilla y León (-11.8%), Andalusia (-11.6%), Navarra (-11.5%), Murcia (-10.8%), the Canary Islands (-10.6%) and the Balearic Islands (-10.5%). The areas least affected by the decline in prices include Extremadura (-10.1%), Galicia (-6.2%), Asturias (-5.2%), Ceuta (-4%), Cantabria (-3.6%) and Melilla (-3.3%).
On a provincial level a more pronounced decline was recorded with above average falls in Tarragona (19%), Toledo (-18.7%), Zaragoza (-18.6%), Almeria (18.1%) and Segovia (18%).
At the other end of the scale a few regions registered smaller declines, or none at all, including Basin (-0.1%) and Orense (0%). Lugo is the only province that, provisionally, shows a slight rise of 2.1%.
Looking at the cumulative decline in prices since the crisis first hit in 2007 the north-east corner of the country stands out with the largest falls recorded (in addition to La Rioja) in Catalonia (-39.3%), Aragon (-37.8%) and Valencia (-36.2%).
Included in this group, although located in the central zone, and with prices influenced by Madrid, is Castilla-La Mancha where the cumulative decline from 2007 now stands at 38.9%.
The cumulative decline now stands at over 40% in a number of provinces including Toledo (-43.1%), Guadalajara (-41.1%), Zaragoza (-40.4%), Tarragona (-40.2%) and Barcelona (-40%). Also on the verge of joining the over-40% group are Almeria (-39.2%), Malaga (-39.1%), Girona (-37.2%) and Valencia (-37.2%).
Conversely, the provinces that showed lower cumulative declines were those with lower population density and a slow second-home market, mainly in the north-west quadrant. Those provinces include Soria (-13.8%), Zamora (-10.2%), Orense (-6.5%) and Lugo (-5.7%).
According to data released on Monday by the EU statistics office, Eurostat, the economy of the eurozone, and the European Union as a whole, shrank 0.2% in the second quarter compared with the first three months of 2012, when growth was zero in both zones.
Real Estate News - Marbella, Spain 