The sale of homes in Catalonia falls for the first time this year in the month of March

BarcelonaCatalonia breaks the streak of monthly increases in home purchases, which had lasted for six months. According to the latest data on property rights transfers, published this Monday by the National Statistics Institute (INE), sales have fallen by 3.5% in March compared to the same period last year. The decline in the third month of the year reverses the trend that had been maintained since the beginning of the year, with increases of 1.4% in January and more than 5.7% in February, with increases of 1.4% in January and more than 5.7% in February.

According to INE data, 10,005 homes were acquired in Catalonia to close the first quarter, about 300 fewer than a year earlier. It should be noted that the figure is the second highest in the entire State, only surpassed by Andalusia and above Madrid and the Valencian Country. The market cooled in all segments: Catalans acquired about 1,971 new homes, down from 2,011 a year ago; and about 8,000 used homes, compared to 8,352 in the same month of 2025.

The only segment that has grown is protected housing, which is residual compared to the free market: according to the Spanish statistical institute, 532 operations were completed to acquire regulated housing, about 100 more than the previous year. Unregulated properties, on the other hand, fell by more than 400 acquisitions, to 9,473.

Three months of decline in the State

With the March losses, Catalonia joins the Spanish trend. In fact, operations fall more than in the State as a whole, which loses 2.2%, to 61,295. In the Spanish territory as a whole, however, the start of the year was not as auspicious as in the Principality, and it now chains a full quarter of real estate slowdown.

Unlike the Catalan market, however, used housing in the State as a whole does show a slight activation, of 0.2% year-on-year, to 48,238 operations. Despite the stagnation at the start of the course, the market started from very high levels. In fact, the figure for purchases of used housing in March is the highest for this month recorded since the start of the historical series, in 2007, before the outbreak of the real estate bubble.

For their part, purchases of new housing are falling sharply in the State as a whole. Operations on new construction properties have fallen by 10.2% compared to the previous year, and are just over 13,000 purchases.

More demand, fewer sales

The real estate sector does not consider the setbacks in sales as proof of a cooling demand. According to the Unsain also points out the low percentage of total sales that corresponds to the regulated market. "Protected housing is still residual, and this makes access to the sector even more difficult", considers the expert. The deficit in Spanish public housing, which the Minister of Economy Carlos Cuerpo acknowledged during his recent visit to the sessions of the Círculo Financiero, is at the origin of "the rise in prices despite the moderation of transactions", in the opinion of the personal shopper

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