Spanish house sales rose 2.2% in 2014 from a year earlier, the first annual increase since 2010, official data showed today.
This was the latest sign that the battered Spanish property sector could be turning a corner.
Around 319,389 homes were sold last year in Spain, the National Statistics Institute said.
That was less than half the 775,300 sold at the height of the housing boom in 2007, a year before the bubble burst which sent Spain's economy into a six-year slump.
House values continued to fall but last month they fell by just 2.7% nationwide from a year earlier, the smallest decline since 2008, separate data from real estate surveyor company Tinsa showed.
House prices have fallen by more than 40% across Spain since the height of the market in 2007.
Spain's economy returned to growth in 2013 after the prolonged downturn, lifted by strong exports and expanding domestic demand, and is expected to grow by more than 2.5% this year.
However, the housing sector remains depressed as banks, struggling to rebuild capital, are just returning to the mortgage market after a glut of cash from the European Central Bank and record low interest rates helps jump start the market.
