Spanish property sales slump – call for action

Country:  Central, Other Spanish Places, Spain; Other Spanish Places, Spain; Spain

3 June 2008

Property developers in Spain have called on the Spanish government to take action to tackle the downturn in the housing sector. The move comes after the latest research from the National Statistics Institute (INE) revealed that that the number of Spanish homes sold during the year to end of March 2008 plunged by 31.6%, compared with a year earlier.

Jose Manuel Galindo, president of Madrid's real estate developer association Asprima, told news agency Europa Press that the Spanish government should help guarantee stable economic growth in the country.

“The drop in housing construction will have an impact on the country's economic growth,” said Galindo. “The housing sector represents about 9% of Gross Domestic Product and if this sector drops by 50%, the effects on the economy will be evident.”

The number of mortgages issued in March also dropped sharply – down 41.9% from a year earlier to €9.975bn (£7.89bn), making it the worst decline since 2003, according to INE.