INE: House Sales Rose by 3.7% YoY in Q1 2019

14 May 2019 – Idealista

According to data from INE, 133,989 homes were sold in Spain between January and March 2019, which represents a YoY increase of 3.7%. It also represents the best quarterly sales figure since the spring of 2008.

Nevertheless, it is worth noting that the volume of monthly sales actually decreased during the quarter from 47,000 in January, to 43,700 in February and 42,700 in March. Second-hand properties accounted for most house sales during the period, specifically 81.1% in March, although the volume of new build transactions did grow by 14.4% during the quarter.

By autonomous region

Andalucía, Cataluña and Madrid continued to lead the ranking in terms of the regions with the most transactions signed, with 8,915, 6,904 and 6,233 units sold, respectively.

Despite the strong results, Fernando Encinar, Head of Research at Idealista urges caution in light of the new Royal Decrees published in recent months. They are generating uncertainty in the market and so are slowing down growth – families and investors alike are deciding not to use their savings to buy a home and rent it out, in the short term at least, and that trend may become more widespread over the coming months.

Original story: Idealista

Translation/Summary: Carmel Drake

Fotocasa: Second-Hand House Prices Rose by 8.4% YoY in March

10 April 2019 – El Confidencial

According to data from the real estate portal Fotocasa, second-hand house prices rose by 8.4% in the year to March 2019, the largest increase since 2007. The average price of a second-hand home now amounts to €1,900/m2, a figure not seen since November 2012.

The data shows that YoY prices recorded 30 months of consecutive increases in March, although a rise of more than 5% has not been seen for 16 months.

The price rises were led by 3 autonomous regions, in particular, which experienced double-digit rises, namely: Madrid (19%), the Balearic Islands (12.5%) and the Canary Islands (11.8%), but prices rose in 16 of the 17 regions. Asturias was the only region to experience a price decrease, of -0.03%.

On average, house prices are still 35.6% below their peak, which was recorded in April 2007 (€2,952/m2).

In terms of average prices, Madrid (€2,976/m2), País Vasco (€2,810/m2) and the Balearic Islands (€2,617/m2) were the most expensive autonomous regions to buy a second-hand home in March. By contrast, Extremadura was the cheapest region (€1,108/m2), followed by Castilla-La Mancha (€1,141/m2), Murcia (€1,164/m2) and La Rioja (€1,402/m2).

By province, 43 of the 50 provinces recorded positive quarterly price variations and seven registered inter-annual price variations of more than 10%, specifically: Madrid (19%), Alicante (15.6%), the Balearic Islands (12.5%), Málaga (12.4%), Las Palmas (12.1%), Santa Cruz de Tenerife (11.4%) and Guadalajara (10.9%).

In Madrid Capital, 18 of the 21 districts saw price increases in March, led by Carabanchel (4%), Vicálvaro and Barajas (both 3.5%). Meanwhile, prices decreased in Chamartín (-3.3%), Latina and Usera (both -0.4%).

Meanwhile, in Barcelona, second-hand house prices rose in 5 of the 10 districts in March, led by Sants – Montjuïc (1.9%), Sarrià – Sant Gervasi (1.4%) and Gràcia (1.2%). The largest QoQ price decrease was recorded in Sant Martí (-1.1%).

Original story: El Confidencial (by E.S.)

Translation/Summary: Carmel Drake

Regional Property Taxes Will Rise in 74 Municipalities in Málaga From 2019

11 September 2018 – Diario Sur

The autonomic coefficients that are applied to cadastral values to adjust them to market prices for the purpose of calculating Property Transfer and Property Succession taxes are going to be updated from 2019.

If you are planning to buy a property next year or if you acquire one as a result of inheritance or a donation, then it is quite likely that you will be hit by an increase in the two autonomic taxes linked to the real estate market (the Property Transfer tax and the Property Succession tax) given that the index that the Junta de Andalucía uses to set the charge is going to increase in 74 of the 103 municipalities in the province of Málaga. With the recovery of the real estate market as the main justification, the multiplying coefficients that are applied to cadastral values to adjust them to market prices (to reflect the performance of the sector) will increase by an average of 12.05% in the Andalucían province with respect to the values in 2017, according to plans compiled by the Ministry of Finance (…).

Málaga province leads the rise

According to the corresponding economic report, Málaga and Almería are the only two provinces where increases are expected to be seen in global terms (of 12.05% and 10.83%, respectively). Many of the other provinces in the autonomous region will be moving in the opposite direction, with decreases expected in Huelva (-13.19%), Granada (-12.41%), Córdoba (-8.32%) and Sevilla (-7.26%) (…).

Original story: Diario Sur (by Francisco Jiménez)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Gesvalt: House Prices Rise by 9% In Q2 2018

5 July 2018 – Eje Prime

House prices are continuing to rise in Spain. To buy a home, you now need to spend €1,373 per square metre, up by 9% compared to the end of the second quarter of 2017. Nevertheless, the rise is not equal across all cities. In fact, the gap between towns is continuing to grow, with differences of more than €1,000/m2, according to Gesvalt.

“The largest price deviations arise between those provinces with most services and those with least tourist appeal and a cumulative oversupply”, says the consultancy firm. Such is the case of Jaén, Teruel, Ciudad Real, Toledo, Cuenca and Cáceres, where unitary values do not even reach €850/m2.

By contrast, Gipuzkoa, Bizkaia and the Balearic Islands continue to top of the ranking, with average prices of more than €2,000/m2. Madrid has also joined the €2,000/m2 club again, exceeding the threshold for the first time in recent years.

By autonomous region, all have recorded increases in their average prices, with the exception of Andalucía and La Rioja, where prices have decreased and País Vasco, where prices have remained stable.

The drivers of the rise in house prices have been Aragón, the Balearic Islands, Cataluña, the Community of Valencia and Madrid, with double-digit increases in all cases.

Meanwhile, the rental market is also maintaining its upward trend, with Barcelona, the Balearic Islands and Madrid leading the ranking of the most expensive cities. In all three cases, rental prices comfortably exceed €14/m2/month, whilst in Jaén, Ávila, Cáceres and Ciudad Real, they average less than €4.3/m2/month.

Original story: Eje Prime 

Translation: Carmel Drake

AEV: Spain’s Appraisal Companies Invoiced €283.8M in 2017, Up By 17% YoY

18 April 2018 – Eje Prime

Appraisal companies are thriving in Spain. According to the latest data from the Spanish Association of Value Analysis (AEV), the turnover of the 23 associated appraisal companies during 2017 amounted to €283.8 million,  up by 17.1% compared to the previous year. This upward trend is experiencing an acceleration that almost doubles the turnover growth rate recorded between 2015 and 2016 (9.2%).

Moreover, this ascending inertia is observed in the great majority of the data analysed. The number of real estate appraisals performed increased by 18% to reach 1.25 million appraisals, corresponding to a total appraised value of €389.5 billion. The 650,000 appraisals that were issued for the purpose of mortgage guarantees stand out, in particular, since they represent 24% more than the number carried out during the previous year, according to data from the association.

The number of appraisals conducted without visiting the interior of the property grew substantially, by 67% to be precise, as did the number of appraisals performed online, although at a more moderate rate (by 15%).

In terms of the regional distribution of house appraisals by autonomous community, Murcia recorded the highest growth with respect to 2016, up by 38%. It was followed by Valencia (36%), Cantabria (31%), the Balearic Islands (25%) and Cataluña (25%).

Original story: Eje Prime

Translation: Carmel Drake

INE: House Sales Soared by 23% in January

15 March 2018 – Expansión

The real estate sector is aiming high in 2018 off the back of the economic recovery. Having surpassed the barrier of half a million homes sold in 2017 and whereby made a return to pre-crisis levels, in January, house sales soared by 23% YoY, to reach 47,289 units. It is the best data for a decade, since May 2008, according to the latest data published by INE. That, combined with the 4.5% recovery in prices in February, as estimated by Tinsa’s price index, indicates that the time is ripe for consolidation in the sector. “The consolidation of credit, the improvement in the economic context and the strong outlook for the sector and the economy, in general, explain this reactivation in demand for housing”, explains the Head of Research at Fotocasa, Beatriz Toribio. With respect to December, sales in January soared by 46.8%.

Forecasts for the real estate sector point to increases of 5% in terms of prices and 10% in terms of sales, in line with the forecast evolution of the Spanish economy. Even so, the number of operations recorded is still well below the more than 100,000 homes sold per month in the years prior to 2008, when the real estate bubble burst. Prices have also continued to recover, and whilst in the centre of some cities, they have now recouped their losses, there are still many areas of the country where house prices today are 65% lower than they were in 2007.

On the one hand, the large capitals and coastal areas are leading the increases in prices, boosted by interest from investors, the tourist boom and a shortage of stock and of new homes. In fact, the overheating of prices in many areas is leading to a displacement of demand towards less central areas of those cities.

In terms of sales, the 23% increase is backed by double-digit growth in 13 autonomous regions. Asturias, the Community of Valencia and Murcia lead the rises, with increases of 56%, 40% and 39%, respectively. Nevertheless, only Valencia remained in the top 3 in absolute terms. That community was, after Andalucía, the one where most house sales were recorded in January (7,409 units). Andalucía was the area where most homes were sold, 8,988 units, up by 31% compared to January 2017. The third region on the podium was Cataluña, which recorded 7,334 sales, although at a rate that was well below the average, of 8%. In this regard, Toribio said that although “the political situation may have slowed down activity in the Catalan real estate market, it has not paralysed it completely”.

Meanwhile, in Madrid, 6,526 homes were sold, up by 14%. Together with Cataluña, La Rioja, Aragón and Extremadura recorded the lowest increases in transaction numbers, up by 8%, 5% and 1%, respectively. The geographical differences expand further as you zoom out of the photo. By province, Álava grew by the most (56.5%) and several provinces saw their sales figures fall. Specifically, in Ciudad Real sales decreased by -19.4%, in Zamora by -10.3% and in Badajoz by -7.4%.

The composition of that growth was also uneven by segment, with a clear predominance in terms of second-hand housing. Of the total number of transactions, just 8,272 were new homes, compared to 42,745 second-hand properties, in other words, 17.5% of the assets sold were new and 82.5% were second-hand. Nevertheless, both segments are evolving in parallel, with growth of 23.5% for new homes and of 23% in the case of second-hand dwellings.

Original story: Expansión (by I. Benedito)

Translation: Carmel Drake

BBVA Research: Madrid & Balearics Led Spain’s House Price Rises in 2017

6 March 2018 – Expansión

House sales data for 2017 and the ongoing increases in house prices augur a year of consolidation for the real estate market in 2018, according to BBVA Research, which published its Real Estate Observatory report yesterday.

Nevertheless, this trend is happening with geographical variations. Madrid and the Balearic Islands are leading the price rises, with increases of 6.9% and 6.5%, respectively, to €2,355/m2 in the case of Madrid and €2,205/m2 in the case of the Balearic market. Those increases amounted to more than double the national average, of 3.1%, with the average price per square metre rising to €1,559/m2.

In 2017, Spain surpassed the symbolic barrier of 500,000 homes sold. Specifically, the year ended with 532,726 operations, according to data from the National Council of Notaries. That increase, of 15.6%, is even greater than the growth recorded in 2016 (14%) and is supported by: the confidence of households in the Spanish economy; the increase in rents thanks to the growth in employment; and the improvement in financing conditions.

The improvement in financing conditions is reflected in data for January when new loans for the acquisition of homes soared by 19.4%. “Thus, the market is expected to continue to perform positively over the next few months”, said the Research Department at BBVA.

But the market is still evolving at different speeds, depending on the autonomous region. In fact, only four regions have prices per square metre that exceed the national average. Besides Madrid and the Balearic Islands,  they are País Vasco, which has the most expensive average house price per square metre in Spain, exceeding even Madrid (€2,387/m2, up by 1.3%) and Cataluña (€1,892/m2), which occupies fourth place, after recording the third highest rise.

The increase in Cataluña was higher than the average, but “it was less intense than in the third quarter of 2017”, said BBVA Research. That circumstance coincides with the secessionist crisis, which has also led to a paralysis in terms of investment and a decrease in the number of tourist visits.

On the other hand, houses got cheaper during the last quarter of 2017 in La Rioja (-1.8%), Castilla y León (-1%), Castilla-La Mancha (-0.8%), Galicia (-0.4%) and Aragón (-0.1%). In some of those autonomous regions, the lowering of house prices may be influenced by the phenomenon of depopulation and the rising demand in large capitals and coastal areas.

Following an 11.6% decrease in the number of permits approved in November, the granting of permits to start new homes performed positively in December, with an increase of 5%, to 6,096 permits.

This increase favours the evolution of the real estate market in a scenario in which the large cities are facing demand that exceeds supply and there is a limitation on land development. In 2017, the number of new home permits amounted to 80,786, which represented an increase of 26.2% compared to 2016.

Original story: Expansión (by I. Benedito)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Registrars: House Prices Rose by 7.6% in 2017

19 February 2018 – Eje Prime

All of the indicators are continuing to ratify the good health of the housing sector in Spain. In this vein, house prices recorded an increase of 7.6% in 2017, whereby continuing the rise observed in recent quarters. Moreover, they registered a quarterly increase of 19.8% between October and December, according to the Real Estate Statistics Register published by the College of Registrars of Spain.

Between October and December, 111,921 house sales were recorded in the property registers, down by 6.1% compared to the previous quarter, which made Q4 the quarter with the fewest house sales in 2017. Nevertheless, all four quarters of the year saw the number of house sales exceed 110,000 operations, something that has not happened since 2008.

The distribution of house sales by type was stable in terms of its structure, with 82.73% of total sales relating to second-hand homes and 17.27% to new build properties. During the last quarter of 2017, 19,325 new build homes were sold, representing a decrease of 7.47% with respect to the previous quarter, and 92,596 second-hand homes were sold, down by 5.77% compared to the third quarter.

Meanwhile, sales volumes increased by 19.8%, in total, compared with the last quarter of 2016. Over the last twelve months, 464,233 operations were registered, the highest annual figure recorded since 2008, up by 15% YoY.

All of the autonomous regions saw increases in the number of house sales in 2017 with respect to 2016. In the lead, Castilla-La Mancha saw a 23.1% rise, Asturias, 20.7%, Madrid, 19.1%, and the Community of Valencia, 17.8%. Moreover, the rates of growth reached double-digits in thirteen of the autonomous regions.

In terms of homes purchased by foreigners, the fourth quarter of the year closed with the highest percentage of purchases by foreigners in the last eight quarters, accounting for 13.6% of all house purchases. In absolute terms, they represented around 15,300 operations, slightly below the almost 15,600 transactions recorded in the previous quarter.

In addition, in cumulative YoY terms, the number of purchases by foreigners accounted for 13.1% of the total, continuing at record highs, with annual figures of almost 61,000 house purchases, compared to 59,200 in the previous quarter.

By nationality, the Brits retained their usual position as the most active buyers, accounting for 15.6% of the total purchases by foreigners, followed by the French (8.2%), Germans (7.8%), Swedes (7.1%), Belgians (6.8%), Italians (5.2%) and Romanians (5.1%).

Original story: Eje Prime

Translation: Carmel Drake

 

Fotocasa: Rental Prices Rose by 8.9% in 2017

15 January 2018 – Eje Prime

House prices are continuing to soar in both the purchase and rental markets. According to the latest report compiled by Fotocasa, rental prices rose by 8.9% on average last year, which represents the highest rise in the historical series, prepared since 2007.

Eleven years ago, this market recorded an increase in rental prices of 3.3%, according to the real estate platform. With the latest increase, rental prices have now registered three consecutive years of rises, although not all of the autonomous regions evolved in the same way.

Until the end of 2017, the only autonomous region to record rental price rises of more than 10% was Cataluña, whereas a year before, Madrid and the Balearic Islands also formed part of that group, according to Cinco Días.

The study, which also analyses the districts of Madrid and Barcelona, shows that in 2017, neighbourhoods such as Ciutat Vella and l’Eixample, in Barcelona, and Centro in Madrid, closed the year with decreases.

Original story: Eje Prime 

Translation: Carmel Drake

Idealista: Second-Hand House Prices Rose by 2.4% in 2017

27 December 2017 – El País

Despite the Catalan crisis, this year, Barcelona has managed to dislodge San Sebastián from the top of the ranking as the most expensive capital city in Spain.

During 2017, buying a second-hand home has become 2.4% more expensive. Owners have paid an average price of €1,586/m2 in 2017, compared to €1,553/m2 in 2016, according to the latest price index from the real estate portal Idealista.

Nevertheless, not all of the markets have behaved in the same way; some have grown at double-digit rates, whilst others have expanded at more moderate rates, and others have seen price continue to decrease, still not reaching rock bottom.

Thirty of the provincial capital cities have seen price rises, although the most marked increase was recorded in Palma de Mallorca, with a rise of 29.1%, taking the average second-hand house price there to €2,667/m2. It was followed by the city of Málaga, where prices have risen by 16.7% to €1,934/m2. By contrast, Soria is the capital where prices have fallen by the most (-8.3%), followed by Ávila (-6.9%) and Almería (-5.1%).

Despite the Catalan crisis, which “will affect the final result for the year”, according to Fernando Encinar, Head of Research at Idealista, this year, Barcelona has managed to dislodge San Sebastián from the top of the ranking as the most expensive Spanish capital, at €4,284/m2, compared to €4,052/m2 in the Guipuzcoan capital. Those two cities are followed by Madrid (€3,285/m2) and Bilbao (€2,871/m2).

By autonomous region, the largest increase was recorded in the Balearic Islands, where owners are now asking 25.3% more for their homes than they were a year ago. It is followed by increases in Cataluña (9.5%), the Canary Islands (8.4%), the Community of Madrid (7.1%), Aragón (2.3%), the Community of Valencia (1.9%), Andalucía (0.8%) and País Vasco (+0.5%). At the other end of the spectrum, the largest decreases were recorded in Navarra (-4.8%), Asturias (-3.2%) and Castilla La Mancha (-2.4%).

The Community of Madrid is the most expensive autonomous region, at €2,544/m2, followed by País Vasco (€2,519/m2), the Balearic Islands (€2,472/m2) and Cataluña (€2,082/m2), whilst the regions with the most affordable prices are Castilla-La Mancha (€897/m2), Extremadura (€932/m2) and Murcia (€1,019/m2). The provinces with the most expensive homes are Guipúzcoa and Vizcaya, at €2,760/m2 and €2,591/m2, respectively. They are followed by Madrid (€2,544) and Barcelona (€2,544/m2). Toledo is the most affordable province (€770/m2), followed by Avila (€801/m2) and Ciudad Real (€840/m2).

Original story: El País (by S. L. L.)

Translation: Carmel Drake