The Housing Market in Alicante Faces a New Boom at the End of 2024

Housing sales have experienced a new boom due to lower interest rates and improved mortgage conditions. The new cycle, driven by the decline of the Euribor, has revitalised real estate transactions, increasing by over 1,000 between August and September in the province of Alicante.

According to the Property Rights Transfer Statistics, published this Monday by the National Statistics Institute (INE), September closed with a total of 5,386 housing sales in the province, a significant rise of 20.61% compared to August.

This September's housing sales figure is the highest of the decade, and one must go back to May 2007 to find a higher number of transactions. At that time, there were over 5,545, just 159 more than this September.

Second-hand housing has increased by nearly 1,000 transactions compared to the previous month, closing September with approximately 4,298 transactions. This is the highest figure for all of 2024 and the first time this year that over 4,000 purchases have been surpassed. In fact, it is the highest statistic in at least the last 17 years.

This September's data marks it as the best in the INE's historical series, and the specialised portal Fotocasa is already talking about a 'boom' in housing sales. These "significant variations" due to the change in the mortgage cycle indicate "a season of dynamism in home acquisition".

The director of studies and spokesperson for the portal, María Matos, has stated that factors such as optimism and buyer confidence in the market, combined with an increase in household savings rates and more attractive mortgage conditions with a declining Euribor, will boost home purchases in 2024 and 2025.

Forecasts for the coming months indicate "greater activity," highlights Matos, who predicts that 2024 could be "the second-best year since 2007." However, the expert notes that "19% of buyers who had paused the purchase process are likely to return now in search of a more attractive opportunity."

Fotocasa warns that this situation "will foster an oversized demand for purchases, putting more pressure on supply, so the trend in housing prices will continue to rise during 2024" and explains that "the reduction in rates will indirectly lead to a new increase in housing prices by attracting more purchase demand to the market."

The fourth quarter of the year is thus approached with a significant boom in real estate transactions in the province, especially in new construction. With 240 more transactions in September than in August, the final stretch of the year begins with 1,088 new housing transactions in September, almost double that of the same month last year and the highest figure for all of 2024.

New construction has rebounded after years of stagnation. Matos asserts that this type of housing is "experiencing a very intense moment due to strong interest in buying new properties." However, the issue of prices is on the table, especially if demand "remains so latent."

The difficulties faced by developers in finding and financing land, along with rising material costs and excessive bureaucracy, have slowed down some developments, leaving very scarce production levels to absorb the solvent purchase demand," highlights María Matos.