House sales in Spain have fallen 10 per cent this year, confirming the end of the country’s ten-year building boom. The Spanish College of Registrars released figures yesterday showing that the number of homes sold in the year’s first half fell by 10.1 per cent from the same period in 2006.

New properties sold between January and June fell by 12.77 per cent from a year earlier to 183,992, while sales of “pre-owned” homes were down by 8.21 per cent at 254,364.

Sales fell in both the first and second quarters – the first time that this has happened in a decade.

The general slowdown in house sales reflects falling demand that has caused prices to grow this year at a slower pace than the international average, as higher interest rates and high prices have taken the shine off Spain’s real estate sector.

Britons, traditionally the biggest foreign contingent of investors and holiday-home buyers, have looked elsewhere for cheaper investments, preferring to buy in Eastern Europe or even Brazil, where they expect to get more for their money.

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