According to Salvador Vila, the president of the Valencian Association of Real Estate Promoters and Builders, some 22% of all the homes that came on the market last year were sold to foreigners. Of the remaining figure, 76% was acquired by Spanish nationals and just under one per cent by businesses. Mr Vila also revealed that during last year 37,320 homes were sold on average each quarter, and an average 17,000 mortgages a month were taken out, 7,600 coming from people who bought in the provinces of Alicante and Valencia, with the remaining 1,750 in Castellon. The average duration of these mortgages during the last quarter of 2006 was 25.83 years, as opposed to a national average of 27.25 years, which, Mr Vila argues," clearly demonstrates the superior purchasing power of our buyers." http://valencialife.net