Spanish home sales slide 11.2% in Q1 2026 as record 2025 fades and mortgage costs climb
After a record-smashing 2025, the Spanish property market is cooling fast. Transactions fell 11.2% in the first quarter to 163,322, the lowest for a Q1 since 2024, as rising financing costs and a tight supply squeeze out buyers.
The Spanish housing market opened 2026 with a sharp decline in transactions, state data showed on Thursday. Home sales totalled 163,322 between January and March, an 11.2% drop from the same period in 2025 and the weakest first quarter since 2024, according to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Agenda. The last time a Q1 came in lower was two years ago, when 160,441 sales were recorded.
A sharp correction after a record year
The slowdown follows an exceptionally strong 2025, when 752,098 homes changed hands — a 5% rise on 2024 and the highest annual figure since the pre-crisis boom of 2007. Yet the growth was already losing momentum. The fourth quarter of 2025 posted the smallest year‑on‑year advance of the year, and January 2026 marks the fifth month of declines in notarial records. A pullback after such record volumes was in the cards, and the Q1 data confirms the expected cooling.
- Q1 2024
- 160441
- Q1 2025
- 184040
- Q1 2026
- 163322
The quarterly drop is even starker compared to the final three months of 2025, when 200,250 transactions were logged. Against that base, the first quarter represents an 18.4% reverse. While comparisons to the end‑of‑year rush are always sharp, the magnitude underscores how quickly the cycle is turning.
Mounting headwinds: rates, supply and affordability
Ministry sources point to the international climate, which has pushed up mortgage costs.
The ECB is expected to confirm a further rate rise today, a move that would compound the financing squeeze.The decline is probably due to the international context, which has caused an increase in the cost of mortgages, among other factors.
Supply is also an issue.
Prices are still elevated, and Bermúdez, deputy director of real‑estate network Donpiso, says the market is hitting an affordability wall:Another factor causing this drop is the lack of supply; the adjustment is especially noticeable in the most stressed markets.
There comes a moment when prices clash with wages, and these adjustments are understood in that context.
Used vs new, protected vs free
The correction is broad. Free‑market homes — the overwhelming majority — recorded 159,317 sales, an 11% year‑on‑year decline. Protected housing, a much smaller segment, saw its transactions plummet 20.4% to just 4,005.
Within the free‑market category, resale homes fell 10.9% to 146,292, while new‑build sales dropped 12.2% to 13,025. The steeper new‑home falls partly reflect a supply shortage: developers are struggling to deliver finished units fast enough, and higher construction costs are adding to developers’ caution.
Regional and quarterly swings
No part of the country escaped the slide. Andalucía, the largest market by volume, still led with 31,162 sales, but its tally was down year‑on‑year alongside Madrid, Catalonia and the Valencian Community. Against the fourth quarter, free‑market sales sank 17.8%, protected housing dived 35.9%, and new‑build transaction volumes fell by a third.
The value of residential real estate changing hands also shrank. Total turnover in Q1 reached €35,327.9 million, down 3.7% from €36,690.6 million in the same quarter of 2025. Experts cited in the reports expect the cooling to feed through to price growth by 2027 — not in the form of outright falls, but a marked deceleration.
