News: Property sales soar in July for third consecutive month

HOME sales and purchases leapt 16.8% in July compared with the same month in 2016, with a total of 38,841 properties shifting hands

Overall, residential property sales rose by 13.7% in the first seven months of the year, reveals the National Institute of Statistics (INE), with figures for the three months of May, June and July inclusive having seen sustained growth after a lull in April due to what is known in the industry as the 'Easter effect'.

Of those properties bought in July, the vast majority – 82.5% - were second-hand, totalling 32,049, as opposed to new builds.

This reflects a 17.7% year-on-year rise in already-built properties being bought, showing renewed hope for owners hoping to sell their homes.

Further activity is expected in the housing market this autumn thanks to the Central European Bank (BCE)'s having confirmed that the Eurozone interest rate, the Euribor, will remain at 0% for the foreseeable future, meaning no medium- or even long-term likelihood of mortgages going up significantly.