In the first quarter of 2012, nationwide real estate unit sales agreements totalled 154,813, down -16.9% over the same period for the previous year. Of these, 143,868 (92.9%) concerned homes and appurtenances and 9,700 (6.3%) real estate units for business purposes .
In relation to type of use, sales of residential properties fell by 17.2%, whereas sales of properties for business use fell by 11.8% .
In the first quarter of 2012, all the geographical areas registered a negative trend for both type of sales. The total number of sales of real estate units showed the worst trend in the Centre (-21.0%), in the Islands (-18.1%) and in the North-east (-17.8%); is under the national average (-16.9%) the decrease observed in the North-west (-14.7%) and in the South (-14.2%). In general, this trend is common to sales of real estate units concerned homes and appurtenances.
Nationwide, in the first quarter of 2012, 92,415 loans were stipulated, of which 64,116 (69.4%) were mortgage-secured and 28,299 (30.6%) were non-mortgage-secured. The total number of loans decreased by 49.6% compared to the first quarter of 2011. In particular non-mortgage-secured loans recorded a reduction of 63.6%, while mortgage-secured loans fell by -39.2%. In the first quarter of 2012, both type of mortgage registered a negative trend in all the geographical areas. Non-mortgage secured loans registered the worst trend in the Centre (-74.5%) and the less relevant decrease in the Islands (-53.9%); is under the national average (-63.6%) the decline observed in the North-east (-61.4%), in the South (-60.8%), and in the North-west (-59.7%).