Canary Islands experience the sharpest 22.7% drop in home sales in January

New Vacation Regulation in the Canary Islands Leaves Speculative Moves in the Air Over Land and Housing

The Canary Islands were the autonomous community where property sales fell the most in January, dropping 22.7% compared with the same month last year, while mortgages also decreased by 19.9%, according to the Real Estate Registry Statistics from the College of Registrars.

Across Spain, property sales started the year with 56,776 transactions, a 7% decline from January 2025 – the sharpest drop since June of that year.

In the same month, total sales (including land) amounted to about 113,600 transactions, down 4.2% year‑on‑year, marking the biggest decrease since May 2024.

Conversely, mortgages showed a 4.1% year‑on‑year increase, with 50,800 new mortgages recorded. Of these, 40,087 were secured on residential properties, up 5.5% from January 2025.

January also marked the 19th consecutive month of growth in the number of mortgages, both overall and for housing.

The College of Registrars highlighted the stronger performance of mortgages relative to property sales, noting that mortgage loans on housing now represent 78.9% of all property transactions.

Property Sales by Autonomous Community

• The biggest gains in residential sales were recorded in Melilla (+53.8%), Navarre (+20.4%), and Ceuta (+10.5%).
• The steepest declines (over 15%) occurred in the Canary Islands (‑22.7%), Madrid (‑20.8%), Castilla‑La Mancha (‑18.5%), and Asturias (‑15.5%).

Regarding total sales (including land):

• Melilla (+89.3%), Navarre (+21.8%), and Ceuta (+16.9%) posted the strongest increases.
• Declines above 10% were seen in Madrid (‑20%), Canary Islands (‑15.7%), Aragon (‑11.7%), and Asturias (‑11%).

In absolute terms, Andalusia led the country with more than 12,000 residential transactions and over 21,000 total sales.

Mortgages on Housing Grow in 13 Autonomous Communities

Residential mortgages rose in January in thirteen regions, led by Ceuta (+32.4%), Extremadura (+31.3%), Navarre (+29.4%), and Andalusia (+19.8%).

The sharpest drops were recorded in Aragon (‑26.4%), La Rioja (‑21.4%), and the Canary Islands (‑19.9%).

Mortgage loans secured on any type of property also increased in thirteen regions, with the strongest gains in Ceuta (+61.8%), Navarre (+29.3%), Extremadura (+28.3%), and Andalusia (+17%).

The most pronounced declines were in Aragon (‑36.9%), La Rioja (‑16.7%), and the Canary Islands (‑14.7%).

In absolute numbers, Andalusia, Catalonia, Madrid, and Valencia each exceeded 5,000 mortgages on all property types.

Overall, Andalusia topped the list for residential mortgages with 9,100 new loans, and also led total mortgage activity with 11,100 transactions.