Spanish home sales declined by 18% in July compared to last year, according to the latest data from the Spanish notaries. Compared to last year’s boom the downward adjustment is picking up steam, but it still looks like a soft landing.

There were 57,255 Spanish home sales witnessed by notaries during July, down 18% nationally with much bigger declines on the Spanish islands.

However, sales are still higher than in 2019, and only just below the level in 2018. So, by the standard of more normal years than the post-pandemic boom in 2022, sales this July were healthy.

Compared to a national decline of 18%, sales declined by 37% in the Canaries, and 31% in the Balearics, the two regions where foreign buyers have the biggest market share. In other regions of interest to foreign investors sales declined 22% in Andalusia, 18% in Catalonia and the Valencian region, 17% in Madrid, and 13% in Murcia.