In 2022, the province of Ourense had the lowest sales per capita in Spain. There were only 6.2 residential properties sold per thousand people. At the same time, 79.6% of the total volume of sold housing accounted for the offers of the secondary market, "second-hand" housing. We are talking about 1,508 houses and apartments per year.
According to information from the Association of Real Estate Inspectors of Spain, it was the secondary market that became the most successful for Ourense, showing sales growth of 15.6% year-on-year, that is, from 2021. The new housing market grew by this indicator by only 4.6% in annual terms, 387 residential properties were sold.
Thus, a total of 1,895 housing units were sold on the market, which is 13.2% more than was recorded at the end of 2021, when 1,674 sales transactions were recorded. In other words, Ourense was still within the framework of the nationwide growth trend, but in comparative terms it did not keep up with the average for Spain.
However, the situation is not so bad. The province still showed a comparable number of sales from 2019, before the onset of the pandemic. Then the market was able to sell 1,675 objects. Although the new housing was a great success, as 449 houses were sold that year. However, the past years are extremely far from the historical peaks of 2005, when sales amounted to 4,732 units of residential real estate.
These Associations also provide information about sales in the eponymous capital of the province of Ourense. In total, 948 properties were sold in 2022, which is 6.9% more than a year earlier. Again, the secondary housing market acts as the engine, it accounted for 793 objects sold out of the previously indicated volume. This is an increase of 11.5% in annual terms. Sales of new housing in the primary market fell by 11.9% over the year, only 155 objects were sold.
Prices are to blame for low sales, especially of new housing. They showed an increase of 1.4% last year, having crossed the psychological mark of 100,000 euros. The square meter grew by 4.6%, on average to 933 euros. The growth is less than in other provinces of Galicia, but serious for the local market and the buyer with a fairly modest average income. At the same time, Ourense cannot rely on foreign demand either, international buyers are not interested in the region and only 1% of sales in 2022 came from foreigners.
People resort to the secondary market mainly when there is not enough new housing on the market and prices for it become unacceptable. In the absence of access to cheap mortgage loans, buyers can only go to the secondary market or rent a house. Nevertheless, an increase in the number of new mortgage loans in 2022 was still observed. 1,158 loans were opened, which is 6.4% more than a year earlier.