New home sales grow 30% in Malaga despite price increases

In Málaga, the total number of home sales has decreased, contrasting with the trend in Spain. Let's look at the numbers. During January, there were 3,125 real estate transactions in the province, which represents a nearly 3% decrease compared to the figure from a year earlier. In contrast, across Spain, 60,650 homes were sold in the first month of the year, an 11% increase from the same period in 2024. These figures were released this morning by the National Institute of Statistics (INE).

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The decline in home sales in Málaga at the start of the year is solely due to a decrease in the second-hand segment, which fell by 14%, from 2,390 to 2,050 year-over-year.

In contrast, the sales of used homes in Spain increased by 6%, from 43,812 in January 2024 to 46,486 a year later. A similar trend occurred in Andalusia, increasing from 7,904 to 8,373.

The relative weakness of the second-hand housing market in Málaga contrasts with the strength of the new developments segment. During January, 1,075 new homes were sold in the province, representing a 30% increase compared to a year earlier. This growth is similar to that recorded in the rest of Spain and also in Andalusia.

In Málaga, the dynamism of new construction is not enough to counteract the decline in transactions with used homes. Meanwhile, across the country, while the increase in activity is much higher in new houses, the transactions in the second-hand segment show healthier figures than in Málaga and continue to rise.

In any case, in all regions, the weight of used homes in the overall real estate market is much higher than that of new apartments.

In the Costa del Sol province, more than a thousand new homes have not been sold in a January since 2013, when the transaction figure was 1,195. For the country, the latest figure was the highest since 2014. However, transactions of used apartments in the province recorded their lowest figure since 2021, while in Spain they are at their highest levels since 2007, that is, since the last real estate boom.

These are all figures that clash after the report published by the appraisal company Tinsa this Wednesday. Although the sales of new homes are growing faster than those of second-hand homes, the former are, nationally, 44% more expensive than the latter - and in Málaga, the price per square meter of new apartments is 36% higher than that of used ones.

74.6% of the average Malaga household income

is spent on the first year of mortgage payments for a new house. It is the province in Spain where buying a new apartment requires the greatest effort.

Málaga is also, according to Tinsa's figures, the province where buying a new home requires the greatest effort: the first year's mortgage payment would take 74.6% - three-quarters - of the income of an average household, ahead of what it represents in the Balearic Islands (68.2%). Additionally, Málaga was also the province where the price of houses in new developments increased the most: a whopping 24.4%, ahead even of the Balearic Islands (19.8%) or Madrid (15.7%).

Hence, one of the conclusions of the document prepared by Tinsa's experts was: "The new construction segment, generally more expensive than the second-hand market, is aimed at profiles with greater purchasing power, such as high incomes, foreigners, or legal entities with financial backing superior to that of the individual buyer." From this, it can be inferred that in the Malaga province, domestic buyers with lower incomes are the ones retracting, compared to foreigners or people with greater financial capacity.