Home sales resume their record-breaking trend, reaching their best September on record.

BarcelonaThe dynamism of the housing market, which is registering its best year in terms of the number of transactions, broke a new record in September, its highest in 18 years. The situation across Spain is the same: sales reached their highest figure for that month in September, with a total of 63,794 transactions, 3.8% more than in September of last year, according to data published this Tuesday by the National Institute of Statistics (INE). While the figure for the ninth month of the year is the second highest in Spain this year, Catalonia has registered higher figures on five occasions. In July, for example, a total of 10,729 home sales were recorded. This September surge, which has once again propelled the market to record levels, comes after a decline in August: it was the first time in 14 months that the number of home sales had decreased. Both in Catalonia and in the rest of Spain, sales fell in August by -0.6% and 3.4% year-on-year, respectively, something that had not happened since June 2014. All of this has meant that prices continue to skyrocket.

The slowdown seen in the summer is typical, as it's a holiday month and the number of transactions tends to decrease. However, this wasn't the case with the other major indicator published by the INE (National Institute of Statistics) to gauge market sentiment: mortgage signings in August not only didn't decline, but marked their 15th consecutive month of growth, registering the best August performance since 2010.

This situation in the home sales market is driven by the expansionary economic cycle fueled by the interest rate reduction policy initiated in September 2013 by the European Central Bank (ECB). Over the past two years, the monetary institution has reduced the cost of money—up to eight times—to the current 2%, which has made mortgages cheaper. Now, after two consecutive meetings in which it has maintained interest rates, the home sales market is expected to slow down. However, although mortgage costs are expected to rise, the strong demand for home purchases, which is not as dependent on loan prices, is expected to remain strong. continue to drive the market upwards.