In the fourth quarter 2021 the notary agreements regarding sales of real estate units and any other kind of exchange of properties and appurtenances in return for payment amounted to 280,532 (+0.5% compared with previous quarter and +14.4% on an annual basis).
Compared with the previous quarter, the residential sector marked a positive change in South (+4.1%), remained substantially stable in North-east and Centre, while declined in Islands (-0.7%) and North-west (-0.5%). The economic sector grew in South (+8.7%), Islands (+5.3%) and North-east (+3.7%) and decreased in Centre (-3.5%) and North-west (-1.2%).
94.0% of the notary agreements concerned transfers of residential properties (263,795), 5.6% affected transfers of properties for business purposes (15,671) and 0.4% estates for special uses and multi-owned properties (1,066).
Compared with the fourth quarter 2020, real estate unit exchange agreements encreased by 14.1% in the residential sector and by 18.0% in the economic sector. Therefore the trend growth decelerated that recorded in both sectors in the first three quarters of same year (respectively +37.2% and +29.3% in the first quarter, +75.4% and +87.7% in the second quarter and +19.3% and +23.8% in the third quarter).
The trend growth affected the whole Country both for housing sector (South +18.3%, Centre +14.6% North-west +13.7%, North-east +12.5%, Islands +11.1%, small and large cities: +15.1% and +12.9%) and for economic sector (North-east +22.5%, North-west +21.8%, Islands +21.1%, South +20.9%, Centre +3.7%, large and small cities: +22.6% and +15.1%).
The mortgage-secured loans amounted to 116,238 (-4.0%, compared with the previous quarter, and +3.3% on an annual basis). Compared with the previous quarter, the decline affected entire national territory: Centre -5.7%, North-west and North-east -4.0%, Islands -2.4% and South -2.0%. On annual basis, the increase affected all geographic areas of the Country (Centre +5.0%, Islands +4.9%, North-west +3.4%, South +2.6%; North-east +1.7%, large and small cities: +5.5% and +1.5%).