Tag: average home

ST: House Prices Rose By 2.5% In 2016

4 April 2017 – El Mundo

The average price of housing in Spain experienced an average annual increase of 2.5%, to reach €1,469/m2, according to the Real Estate Sector Trend Report from ST Sociedad de Tasación. In the second half of 2016 alone, house prices rose by 1.5%. Despite this YoY increase, the average salary required to acquire a home remained stable at 7.4 years.

According to Juan Fernández-Aceytuno, Director General of the appraisal company, “the positive variation experienced over the last 18 months confirms the recovery that we have been predicting since 2015”. “Nevertheless”, he clarified, “the average behaviour of prices is not the same across every province”.

In this way, by province, Barcelona experienced an annual increase of 5.5%, followed by the Balearic Islands, with an increase of 4.6% and Madrid, 4.4%. By contrast, Teruel with a reduction of -2.1% and Álava with a fall of -1.6% experienced the highest price decreases, followed by Pontevedra (-1.4%), Zamora (-1.3%) and Burgos (-1.1%).

By autonomous region, the price of new and second-hand homes are still decreasing in some areas, led by Asturias with a decrease of -0.5%, followed by La Rioja (-0.4%) and Castilla y León (-0.3%). Meanwhile, Cataluña (4.8%), the Balearic Islands (4.6%), Madrid (4.4%) and Melilla (3.3%) recorded the highest annual increases.

7.4 years of salary to buy a home

ST Sociedad de Tasación’s Real Estate Effort Index, which defines the number of years of full pay that an average citizen needs to buy an average home, did not change, remaining stable at 7.4 years in the first quarter of 2017.

The Balearic Islands continued to be the region where it takes the longest to acquire a home (14.4 years), although that figure has decreased with respect to 2016. By contrast, La Rioja is the region where it is easiest to access housing (4.9 years), followed by Murcia, where it takes 5.1 years of full pay to buy a home.

Meanwhile, the Accessibility Index prepared by ST Sociedad de Tasación reflects a slight improvement at the state level for the third consecutive quarter. Based on a benchmark of 100 points for those cases in which the capacity for indebtedness is sufficient, the average level in Spain in the first quarter of 2017 amounted to 107 points, three points above the level in the previous quarter. The state average remained above the minimum salary level for the acquisition of an average home for the fifth consecutive quarter.

By autonomous region, Madrid, Cataluña and the Balearic Islands continued to register insufficient levels for the acquisition of a home, with Cantabria moving into positive territory.

Confidence increases in the real estate sector

ST Sociedad de Tasación’s Real Estate Confidence Index continued its upward trend during the first quarter of 2017, registering an increase of 0.9 points, to reach 55.4 points, out of a total of 100. The index hit its lowest ever value in December 2012, at 30.6 points.

By autonomous region, La Rioja exceeds sixty points, with 60.2, followed by Madrid (58.4) and the Balearic Islands (57.6), which reported the highest confidence indices. By contrast, Castilla y León (50.7), País Vasco (51) and Murcia (51.2) recorded the lowest levels.

Original story: El Mundo

Translation: Carmel Drake

Aguirre Newman Profiles Madrid’s Newest Homes

26 October 2015 – El Mundo

After seven years of continuous decreases, the prices of new homes for sale in Madrid (capital) are on the rise once again. Specifically, they have increased by 8.96% with respect to last year. Or at least, that is one of the findings of a report prepared by the consultancy Aguirre Newman, which studied homes for sale in 242 (unsubsidised) new developments (excluding cooperatives and homeowner associations) in the capital (149) and the Community of Madrid’s 23 main municipalities (122), between July and September 2015. According to the study, this increase is due to the price rises recorded in the most exclusive areas of the centre and north of the city, where demand is highest.

The capital

The report describes the profile of the average new home for sale in the municipality of Madrid: it has a surface area of 109 m2 and a final price of €320,405, i.e. costs €2,937/m2.

The most expensive developments are located in the neighbourhoods of Almagro (Chamberí), El Viso (Chamartín), La Piovera (Hortaleza), Goya and Castellana (Salamanca) and Justicia (Centro), where average prices currently range between €6,500/m2 and €7,000/m2. At the other end of the scale, the cheapest homes in Madrid are found in the districts of Villaverde, Villa de Vallecas and Carabanchel, with average prices of between €1,600/m2 and €1,800/m2.

Another important statistic reflected in the study is that the volume of new homes purchased in Madrid increased by 3% during the first half of 2015, in comparison with the same period last year. Specifically, 1,411 new homes were sold between January and June 2015. This rate of sales is associated with a significant decrease in the average sales periods, which, for a 60-home development have decreased to 17.2 months from 33.2 months last year. (…).

Other municipalities

In contrast to the capital, in the metropolitan area, the average price per m2 of high-rise homes (flats) decreased by 3.46% to €2,310/m2, well below the peak of 2009 (€3,367/m2). Sales in this area also decreased during H1 2015, by 13% with respect to those recorded during the same period in 2014.

The profile of the average home being sold in these municipalities has an average surface area of 130 m2 and a final price of €300,000. In the case of detached homes, the average price is €1,895/m2 with an average surface area that increases to 275m2.

The municipalities located along the A-1 and A-6 motorways are the most expensive, both in terms of multi-family homes and single family homes. Pozuelo de Alarcón is the most expensive town of all, where the average price of flats reaches €3,944/m2 and of detached homes reaches €3,123/m2. At the other end of the spectrum, the municipalities with the cheapest new homes for sale are Móstoles and Pinto, where flats cost no more than €1,400/m2 and detached homes cost €1,000/m2, almost three times less than in Pozuelo de Alarcón.

Outlook

Aguirre Newman considers that in the areas with the greatest level of activity in the centre and north of the city, where demand is greatest and continuing to grow, prices of new developments will increase by 5% over the next 12 months; whilst in the least popular areas, prices will continue to decrease, although at a more moderate rate than before (by around -5%).

Aguirre Newman also believes that the rate of sales of the new projects that are coming onto the market will continue to be high, “and that most, if not all, homes will be sold off-plan”. (…).

Original story: El Mundo (by Luis M. De Ciria)

Translation: Carmel Drake