Standardised Methodological Report

1Contact

1.1Contact organisation
National Statistics Institute of Spain
1.5Contact mail address

Avenida de Manoteras 50-52 - 28050 Madrid

2Metadata update

2.1Metadata last certified
28/02/2024
2.2Metadata last posted
21/03/2024
2.3Metadata last update
28/02/2024

3Statistical presentation

3.1Data description

The Statistics on Transfer of Property Rights offers information regarding the transfer of property rights, that is, regarding the number of rights to real estate properties transferred during the reference month, on a national level, by province and by Autonomous Community.
All this information is broken down, based on different variables, such as the acquisition title or the nature of the property.
All of the information regarding transfers of property rights is obtained from the information contained in the Land Registries throughout the national territory.
3.2Classification system
- Comunidades y Ciudades Autónomas
  01   Andalucía
  02   Aragón
  03   Asturias, Principado de
  04   Balears, Illes
  05   Canarias
  06   Cantabria
  07   Castilla y León
  08   Castilla - La Mancha
  09   Cataluña
  10   Comunitat Valenciana
  11   Extremadura
  12   Galicia
  13   Madrid, Comunidad de
  14   Murcia, Región de
  15   Navarra, Comunidad Foral de
  16   País Vasco
  17   Rioja, La
  18   Ceuta
  19   Melilla
- Estado de la vivienda
  1   Vivienda nueva
  2   Vivienda usada
    .
- Naturaleza de la finca
  1   Fincas urbanas
       1.1   Viviendas
       1.2   Solares
       1_O   Otras fincas urbanas
  2   Fincas rústicas
    .
- Provincias
  02   Albacete
  03   Alicante/Alacant
  04   Almería
  01   Araba/Álava
  33   Asturias
  05   Ávila
  06   Badajoz
  07   Balears, Illes
  08   Barcelona
  48   Bizkaia
  09   Burgos
  10   Cáceres
  11   Cádiz
  39   Cantabria
  12   Castellón/Castelló
  13   Ciudad Real
  14   Córdoba
  15   Coruña, A
  16   Cuenca
  20   Gipuzkoa
  17   Girona
  18   Granada
  19   Guadalajara
  21   Huelva
  22   Huesca
  23   Jaén
  24   León
  25   Lleida
  27   Lugo
  28   Madrid
  29   Málaga
  30   Murcia
  31   Navarra
  32   Ourense
  34   Palencia
  35   Palmas, Las
  36   Pontevedra
  26   Rioja, La
  37   Salamanca
  38   Santa Cruz de Tenerife
  40   Segovia
  41   Sevilla
  42   Soria
  43   Tarragona
  44   Teruel
  45   Toledo
  46   Valencia/València
  47   Valladolid
  49   Zamora
  50   Zaragoza
  51   Ceuta
  52   Melilla
- Régimen de la vivienda 1
  1 Vivienda libre
  2 Vivienda protegida
- Título de adquisición
  1   Compraventa
  2   Donación
  3   Herencia
  4   Permuta
  O   Otros
    .
3.3Sector coverage

The target population of study is the group of Land Registries.
3.4Statistical concepts and definitions
- Acquiring party or recipient
  This is the new owner of the property, in other words, the person acquiring
  or receiving the property, the right to which is transferred.
  The definitions for individual and company are the same as for the
  transferring party.
- Acquisition title
  Is that by which a person owns a property.
  
  The acquisition titles are broken down by merchanting, donation, exchange, inheritance, etc. It does not cover transfer of mortgages, since these are included within the Subrogation of mortgages.
- Date of formalisation of the transfer operation
  The date on which the transfer of property right operation is formalised.
- Date of recording at the lad register
  The date on which the transfer operation is recorded in the Land Register.
  The registration date is considered for all purposes to be the presentation
  date which should be recorded on the same registration. The recording is
  made at the Land Register in whose district the properties subject to transfer
  of rights are situated.
  The date of recording does not have to coincide with the date of
  formalisation of the Transfer.
- Donation
  is the exercising of one's free will whereby a person makes
  something available free of charge to another person who accepts it. In
  order for the donation of property to be valid, a public deed has to be
  drawn up, in which the donated items of property are expressed
  individually, as is the value of the charges to be covered by the recipient.
- Dwelling regime
  Dwelling regime is the dwelling protection regime, that is,
  free price dwellings or those with some official protection regime.
  - Free price dwelling.- If the dwelling is not subject to any type of
  protection.
  - Dwelling subject to some type of protection regime.- Dwelling may be
  subject to some type of official protection: OHP, OHP type or Other OHP.
- Dwellings
  A venue that is designed to be inhabited and intended to be used by one or
  several persons. This sections differentiates between a flat with annexes, a
  flat without annexes, a terraced house/a semi-detached house and a
  detached house.Flat with annexes.- An annex is denominated any element that cannot be
  separated from the dwelling because it serves for its use, in other words,
  this paragraph includes those dwellings which, apart from the flat, also
  have a garage or/and a storage room, not intended for residence and
  usable for other uses. This is considered in the horizontal division law and
  is recorded in the public deed for the dwelling.
  - Flat without annexes.- Dwellings that do not have any rooms depending
  on them. This also includes flats whose annexes have their own
  independent deeds.
  - Terraced or semi-detached house.- A terraced house is a single dwelling
  within a building, linked to other buildings by two of its external walls.
  This may be with one or various floors, with or without annexes, be within
  a plot of land which is the same size or larger than the building.
  This heading also includes semi-detached houses, which are single
  dwellings within a building, linked to other buildings by one of their
  external walls. These may be one or various floors, with or without
  annexes, be within a plot of land which is the same size or larger than the
  building.
  - Detached house.- This is a single dwelling within a building, whose
  external walls are not linked to any other building. This may be with one
  or various floors, with or without annexes, be within a plot of land which is
  the same size or larger than the building.
- Exchange
  is a contract whereby one of the parties undertakes to give
  something to receive something in return.
- Fee simple
  'Full entitlement' is defined as when the right to use and
  have access is in full, without limitation other than those covered by law
  and regulations.
- Free-market dwelling
  This is a dwelling that is not subject to any type of construction.
- Individual
  A physical person is defined as any human individual who is
  subject to rights and obligations.
- Inheritance
  When a property belonging to a deceased person is acquired through a will or legally. Those who are not invalidated under
  the law may be successors by will or minutes regarding the declaration of Intestate heirs.
- Land registry
  The Land Registry is a public Register whose purpose is the recording of property, its ownership as well as any changes or restrictions experienced.
- Legal entity
  Corporation, association or foundation of public interest
  and recognised by the law. Does not have physical individual existence.
  Also governed is association of particular interest whether this is civil or
  mercantile, to which the law grants a personality independent from its
  associates.
- Lots
  This refers to urban soil without buildings, without considering their urbanistic qualification.
- Merchanting
  Through the merchanting contract, one of the parties
  undertakes to hand over something which is specified and the other party
  undertakes to pay a specified price for it, in money or a token thereof.
- Municipality
  The municipality is the basic local entity of the territorial organisation of the State. It has a legal nature, and full capacity to meet its objectives.
- Naked property
  Property encumbered with use and enjoyment such that the owner is only entitled to ownership of the property, but not to its enjoyment.
- Nature of the property
  This is the description of the property, differentiating between rustic and urban.
- New housing
  Dwelling subject to the first transfer in the merchanting deed, normally carried out by the developer or builder in favour of the first purchaser.
- Newly-built dwelling
  When it is a new construction, has less than one year old from the end of the work.
- Property right transferred
  Property is the right to enjoy and have a thing, with no more limitations than those established in the laws. The owner has action against the holder and the possessor of the thing in order to claim it. The owner transfers this right.
- Province ( Article 141.1 of the Spanish Constitution)
  The province is a local institution with its own legal status, determined by grouping municipalities and dividing territories in order to fulfil State activities. Any alteration in the provincial limits is to be approved by the General Courts by means of constitutional law.
- Reference month
  The date of recording in the Land Register is taken as the reference month,
  since this is the moment of registering the transfer operation.
- Rustic nature
  A property is termed as rustic when it is part of the countryside or a rural area.
- Social housing
  This is a dwelling that is subject to some type of official protection or subsidy. This only refers to whether or not it is subject to a regime, without distinguishing the type of regime.
- Transferring party
  The owner of the property, whose right to the property is transferred, is
  specified if it isIndividual or legal entity
- Urban farm excluding dwellings and lots
  Commercial premises.- This section includes those premises whose main
  activity is commercial.
  - Garages.- Public or private car parks are included. They also include those
  private garages within a building designed for dwellings or other
  purposes, but with independent deeds.
  - Office.- Those premises intended for providing public services, but not for
  commercial use.
  - Lumber room.- This includes premises with independent deeds and
  unspecified use under the premises headings, both those included in the
  building of the owner's dwelling, and those that are in another building.Industrial building.- Each area of space that extends between walls to
  form a factory, storage space or other industrial type construction. This
  includes industrial warehouses located in both urban and rustic areas.
  - Building destined for dwellings.- Buildings whose purpose is mainly to be
  used as dwellings. This is independently of whether they have garages,
  lumber rooms or commercial premises.
  - Other buildings not previously determined.- This classification includes
  any construction other than the previous buildings for dwellings. They
  may be used, for example, for schools, hospitals, residences, cinemas,
  hotels, etc.
  - Urban use.- Total building capacity of the industrial area, sector or unit
  concerned, once the square metres for construction destined to obligatory
  building are calculated; urban uses will be included, when they constitute
  independent property.
  - Other urban use.- This includes those urban nature buildings that are not
  classified under the previous headings.
- Urban nature
  Buildings are considered to be of an urban nature when they are located within a city or within the land that is conditioned in order to create or develop an urban area.
- Used housing
  When it is not a new construction, has more than a year old from the end of the work.
- Usufruct
  Is the right to use the property of others, with the obligation of
  preserving its form and substance. It is constituted by law by the will of
  the parties and as prescribed.
  Use and enjoyment of a property may be constituted on the entire
  property or part thereof and on behalf of one or more persons.
3.5Statistical unit

The statistical unit is the number of transfers of property rights registered in the Land Registries.
3.6Statistical population

The target population of study is the group of Land Registries.
3.7Reference area

The geographical scope of these statistics encompasses the entire national territory.
3.8Time coverage

These statistics have a monthly frequency.
3.9Base period

The statistics began to be published in January 2007, and all the series and evolution tables are available from that date onward.

4Unit of measure

4.1Unit of measure

Number of transfers of rights on property.

5Reference period

5.1Reference period

The reference period is the calendar month.
Data referred to the period: Mensual A: 2024 MES: 01

6Institutional mandate

6.1Legal acts and other agreements

The compilation and dissemination of the data are governed by the Statistical Law No. 12/1989 "Public Statistical Function" of May 9, 1989, and Law No. 4/1990 of June 29 on “National Budget of State for the year 1990" amended by Law No. 13/1996 "Fiscal, administrative and social measures" of December 30, 1996, makes compulsory all statistics included in the National Statistics Plan. The National Statistical Plan 2009-2012 was approved by the Royal Decree 1663/2008. It contains the statistics that must be developed in the four year period by the State General Administration's services or any other entity dependent on it. All statistics included in the National Statistics Plan are statistics for state purposes and are obligatory. The National Statistics Plan 2021-2024, approved by Royal Decree 1110/2020, of 15 December, is the Plan currently implemented. This statistical operation has governmental purposes, and it is included in the National Statistics Plan 2021-2024. (Statistics of the State Administration).

By virtue of the partnership agreement signed, in 2004, between the Mercantile and Real Estate Registrar Association of Spain and the National Statistics Institute, the CORPME, through its Information Systems Service, provides the information to the INE in a centralised way, via computer media.
6.2Data sharing
The exchanges of information needed to elaborate statistics between the INE and the rest of the State statistical offices (Ministerial Departments, independent bodies and administrative bodies depending on the State General Administration), or between these offices and the Autonomic statistical offices, are regulated in the LFEP (Law of the Public Statistic Function). This law also regulates the mechanisms of statistical coordination, and concludes cooperation agreements between the different offices when necessary.
The data from the statistics corresponding to the Autonomous Communities requesting it is sent at land registry level.

7Confidentiality

7.1Confidentiality - policy

The Statistical Law No. 12/1989 specifies that the INE cannot publish, or make otherwise available, individual data or statistics that would enable the identification of data for any individual person or entity. Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 on European statistics stipulates the need to establish common principles and guidelines ensuring the confidentiality of data used for the production of European statistics and the access to those confidential data with due account for technical developments and the requirements of users in a democratic society
7.2Confidentiality - data treatment
INE provides information on the protection of confidentiality at all stages of the statistical process: INE questionnaires for the operations in the national statistical plan include a legal clause protecting data under statistical confidentiality. Notices prior to data collection announcing a statistical operation notify respondents that data are subject to statistical confidentiality at all stages. For data processing, INE employees have available the INE data protection handbook, which specifies the steps that should be taken at each stage of processing to ensure reporting units' individual data are protected. The microdata files provided to users are anonymised.
For the requests made on these statistics, the data that has a small volume is anonymised.

8Release policy

8.1Release calendar

The advance release calendar that shows the precise release dates for the coming year is disseminated in the last quarter of each year.
8.2Release calendar access

The calendar is disseminated on the INEs Internet website (Publications Calendar)
8.3User access

The data are released simultaneously according to the advance release calendar to all interested parties by issuing the press release. At the same time, the data are posted on the INE's Internet website (www.ine.es/en) almost immediately after the press release is issued. Also some predefined tailor-made requests are sent to registered users. Some users could receive partial information under embargo as it is publicly described in the European Statistics Code of Practice

9Frequency of dissemination

9.1Frequency of dissemination

The statistics are disseminated monthly. The final data for the reference month the previous year is also published monthly.

10Accessibility and clarity

10.1News release

The results of the statistical operations are normally disseminated by using press releases that can be accessed via both the corresponding menu and the Press Releases Section in the web
10.2Publications

The results of the statistics are disseminated via the INE website:
https://www.ine.es/jaxi/menu.do?type=pcaxis&path=%2Ft30%2Fp168&file=inebase&L=1
10.3On-line database

INEbase is the system the INE uses to store statistical information on the Internet. It contains all the information the INE produces in electronic formats. The primary organisation of the information follows the theme-based classification of the Inventory of Statistical Operations of the State General Administration . The basic unit of INEbase is the statistical operation, defined as the set of activities that lead to obtaining statistical results on a determined sector or subject based on the individually collected data. Also included in the scope of this definition are synthesis preparation.

Access to tables and time series in www.ine.es, in INEbase, within the "Financial and monetary statistics" section:
https://www.ine.es/jaxi/menu.do?type=pcaxis&path=%2Ft30%2Fp168&file=inebase&L=1
10.4Micro-data access
A lot of statistical operations disseminate public domain anonymized files, available free of charge for downloading in the INE website Microdata Section
Users may not access the microdata.
10.5Other

There is the option of requesting customised information from the INE Customer Service Area. Limitations to confidentiality or precision are borne in mind at the time of processing said requests.
Ver https://www.ine.es/ss/Satellite?L=1&c=Page&cid=1254735550786&p=1254735550786&pagename=ProductosYServicios%2FPYSLayout&rendermode=previewnoinsitem
10.6Documentation on methodology

A detailed description may be viewed at:
https://www.ine.es/en/metodologia/t30/t3030168_en.pdf

10.7Quality documentation

Fields 10.6 to 17 of this document are the user-oriented quality report for this operation.

11Quality management

11.1Quality assurance

Quality assurance framework for the INE statistics is based on the ESSCoP, the European Statistics Code of Practice made by EUROSTAT. The ESSCoP is made up of 16 principles, gathered in three areas: Institutional Environment, Processes and Products. Each principle is associated with some indicators which make possible to measure it. In order to evaluate quality, EUROSTAT provides different tools: the indicators mentioned above, Self-assessment based on the DESAP model, peer review, user satisfaction surveys and other proceedings for evaluation.

Month-by-month, the data on the transfers of property rights received in the INE by the Mercantile and Real Estate Registrar Association of Spain (CORPME) is subjected to a series of filtering and validation phases:
- In a previous information validation phase, some data is approved, while other data is moved to an error file.
- In the first filtering phase of the error file, all of the relevant variables are cross-checked, register-by-register, in order to approve those values, or rectify them if they are incorrect.
- In case of doubt, the CORPME is queried regarding those abnormal values of the filtered variables.
- A second filtering phase, or check-up, is performed of everything carried out in the first phase.
- Reports are compiled for comparison with the statistics published by the CORPME.

11.2Quality assessment

The Statistics of Transmissions of Property Rights is a high quality operation, which due to the use of administrative records:

- reduces costs and the burden on the informant

- the non-response rate is very low

12Relevance

12.1User needs

Statistics users include:
- Ministries and other public bodies.
- Territorial administrations (Autonomous Communities, municipal councils, etc.), for dissemination of their territorial data.
- Companies and non-profit institutions.
- Media professionals for the compilation of journalistic articles.
Each one of these users have different needs, according to the purpose and use they will make of the information they require.
12.2User satisfaction

The INE has carried out general user satisfaction surveys in 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016 and 2019 and it plans to continue doing so every three years. The purpose of these surveys is to find out what users think about the quality of the information of the INE statistics and the extent to which their needs of information are covered. In addition, additional surveys are carried out in order to acknowledge better other fields such as dissemination of the information, quality of some publications...

On the INE website, in its section Methods and Projects / Quality and Code of Practice / INE quality management / User surveys are available surveys conducted to date.(Click next link)

The specific needs of users that are not covered with the information provided by these statistics, are taken into account whenever customised requests are carried out, and to the extent possible, are incorporated in the statistics when the methodology is updated.
12.3Completeness

There is no regulation that establishes the variables that shall be provided by these statistics; nevertheless, it is always intended to provide the users with all the information they need, as detailed in 13.2.

According to the National Statistical Plan, 100% of the information requested is provided. R1=100%

13Accuracy and reliability

13.1Overall accuracy

The procedure for collection, coverage control, error filtering and imputation of non-response enables obtaining a high degree of reliability in the statistics.
13.2Sampling error

The data of these statistics is obtained comprehensively from the Land Registries, with no sampling, and therefore, there are no sampling errors.
13.3Non-sampling error

In order to correct non-sampling errors, such as non-response, estimates are performed. Specific information is also available regarding the non-response rate, which is less than 10%. A4=5.08%

14Timeliness and punctuality

14.1Timeliness

The data from the statistics is published approximately 40 days after the reference month of the information.

TP1= 40 days

TP2= 1 year
14.2Punctuality

The dissemination of the data is carried out in accordance with the short-term statistics availability calendar that the INE compiles and publishes for each year.

15Coherence and Comparability

15.1Comparability - geographical

These statistics, in all of their phases, are processed in the same way for the entire territory. In this way, the results are perfectly comparable for any geographical breakdown.
15.2Comparability - over time

These statistics began to be published in January 2007. Continuity in the methodology applied since the implementation of the statistics allows its comparability over time, and therefore, all the variables published on a monthly basis are comparable.

CC2=205 months
15.3Coherence - cross domain

The statistics follow the same trend as the Real Estate Statistics compiled by the Registrar Association, in its Real Estate Transaction section.
15.4Coherence - internal

The data has complete internal coherence, as it is based on the same set of microdata, and is calculated using the same estimation methods. The arithmetic and accounting identities are observed in the production of data sets.

16Cost and burden

16.1Cost and burden

The estimation of the budgetary credit necessary to finance the Statistics on transfer of property rights in the Annual Program 2024 comes to a total of 33.72 thousand euros.

17Data revision

17.1Data revision - policy

The INE of Spain has a policy which regulates the basic aspects of statistical data revision, seeking to ensure process transparency and product quality. This policy is laid out in the document approved by the INE board of directors on 13 March of 2015, which is available on the INE website, in the section "Methods and projects/Quality and Code of Practice/INE’s Quality management/INE’s Revision policy" (link).

This general policy sets the criteria that the different type of revisions should follow: routine revision- it is the case of statistics whose production process includes regular revisions-; more extensive revision- when methodological or basic reference source changes take place-; and exceptional revision- for instance, when an error appears in a published statistic-.

Final results for the reference month the previous year will be published on a monthly basis, at least one week before the reference month to be published.
17.2Data revision - practice

Each month, provisional data for the statistics is disseminated, and when the final data is published, it is not subject to revision.

MAR and RMAR are calculated with the provisional/final data of the variable Sale of dwellings for the twelve months of 2022.

A6-MAR=184.75

A6-RMAR=0.34%

18Statistical processing

18.1Source data

All of the information regarding transfers of property rights is obtained from the information contained in the Land Registries throughout the national territory.
18.2Frequency of data collection

The data is received monthly.
18.3Data collection

The Registrar Association sends the data in an encrypted file via e-mail, to the Subdirectorate General for Information and Communication Technologies.
18.4Data validation

The data file submitted by the Registrar Association is subjected to a previous data validation phase, where some data is validated and other data is moved to an error file. In the first filtering phase, the errors are revised so as to rectify or leave them as correct. In case of doubt, the Registrar Association is queried about those abnormal records. Next, a second filtering or checking phase is performed of all the work done in the first phase. Prior to tabulation for the monthly publication, a series of variable checking and evolution reports is compiled.
18.5Data compilation

In the first filtering phase, errors and inconsistencies in the variables for each record are detected and filtered, and content errors are also filtered and imputed. In the second filtering phase, all the work carried out in the first phase is strengthened.
18.6Adjustment

No adjustments are made.

19Comment

19.1Comment

Transfer of Property Rights Statistics