The sale of houses fell by 30.4% in the first quarter of 2011 when compared to the same period in 2010.
There were 74,540 transactions during the first quarter of 2011 according to the Ministry of Development.
The year has begun with a sharp decline in sales after the end of 2010 increases, the disappearance of the tax credit for those earning over €24,000 being one of the reasons for the decline. In the fourth quarter of 2010 there were 150,268 property transactions, nearly double that in the first three months of 2011.
The general trend of falling property sales does not, however, seem to deter the local authorities from being obsessed with building more and more houses.