Tag: College of Registrars

The 2008 Crash Lasted 7 Years and Industrial Property Prices Fell by 40%: What will Happen in this Crisis?

By last year, industrial assets had recovered only 17.5% of the value that they lost during the 2008 real estate crash, after dipping to minimum levels in 2014. According to the College of Registrars, the average transaction price was €527/m2 at the end of 2019.

By last year, industrial assets had recovered only 17.5% of the value that they lost during the 2008 real estate crash, after dipping to minimum levels in 2014. According to the College of Registrars, the average transaction price was €527/m2 at the end of 2019.

Like other asset segments, the 2008 financial and real estate crisis hit the industrial market hard. The average transaction price of industrial assets went from €792/m2 to €471/m2, whereby losing 40.5% of their value.

The decrease in prices lasted 7 years, from their peak in the fourth quarter of 2007, to when they bottomed out in the third quarter of 2014. “From that moment, transaction values ​​remained stable for two and a half years, until in the second quarter of 2017, when they began to rise slowly at a rate of between 5% and 6% year-on-year,” says Antonio Ramudo, Data Scientist at Brainsre.

Thus, by the end of 2019, according to the Registrars, with respect to the minimum levels reached in 2014, only 17.5% of the value lost during the crisis had been recovered, with an average price of €527/m2. The current crisis is showing signs of exceptional severity throughout the world, but it is true that the industrial segment is being hit less hard thanks to the dynamism of e-commerce during this time of lockdown.

Variation in prices

The autonomous regions with the most expensive industrial products are also those that suffered the greatest decreases in absolute values. As such, the gap between the maximum prices of 2008-2009 and the minimum prices reached after the fall was greater.

In this way, the regions with the highest average transaction value at present are the Balearic Islands (€1,513/m2), the Community of Madrid (€1,371/m2), País Vasco (€1,263/m2), the Canary Islands (€1,190/m2) and Cataluña (€1,111/m2).

They represent the three most important industrial centres in the country plus the islands, which due to the scarcity of this type of product tend to have more expensive prices. All regions are currently well below the maximum values ​​they reached before the bubble burst in 2008.

Impact of the fall and recovery

With a 61% loss in value, the Canary Islands was the region that suffered the largest drop in prices during the last crisis. Aragón, Cantabria, Galicia and the Balearic Islands were the other autonomous regions that suffered the greatest price decreases, with more than 55% being knocked off their value”, says Antonio Ramudo.

Pontevedra was the province whose prices suffered the most as a result of the 2008 crisis, with a decrease of 70%, from €809/m2 in the third quarter of 2008 to €243 euros/m2 in the first quarter of 2014. Many industrial estates along the Vigo – O Porriño axis witnessed that fall, which lasted for more than 5 years. Huesca was another province that suffered badly during the previous crisis, and with minimum and maximum prices similar to those of Pontevedra, it suffered a 69% decline in transaction values.

50% decreases in Madrid and Cataluña

Nor were the large capitals spared from the crisis. Prices in Madrid fell by 50%, in Barcelona by 52% and Sevilla, which suffered the most, by 66%.

After the 2008 crisis, “36 of the 52 provinces that make up Spain saw a decrease in their average transaction prices of more than 50%. Extremadura was the autonomous region that got off the lightest, although transaction values there still fell by 40%. Nevertheless, it is worth noting that it has always been the region with the lowest prices, so the margin for loss was also lower”, says the Data Scientist.

And amongst the provinces, those that fell by the least were the ones that reached the lowest maximum prices, and therefore had the least to lose: Jaén, Granada, Cáceres, Albacete and Palencia all suffered decreases of less than 40%.

“It is interesting to see also how the various regions have been recovering after leaving behind the crisis of 2008. The islands are the regions that have recovered the best thanks in part to the shortage of product there. In the Balearic Islands and the Canary Islands, 27% and 30% of the value lost has been recovered, respectively”, says Ramudo.

Recovery

Murcia is the mainland region where prices have recovered the most, with 28% of the value recovered with respect to their maximum prices. Madrid has recovered by 22% and Barcelona by 11%. Up to 21 provinces have recovered by less than 20%.

Some regions have recovered almost none of their value: Castilla-La Mancha is currently at values ​​close to the minimums reached in 2015, and prices in Castilla y León are now the lowest they have been for the last 15 years.

“In general, it could be said that since the falls after the crisis slowed down in 2014 and 2015, transaction values ​​have remained fairly stable in almost all regions. Although, there has been some slight price growth since 2017 in places with more demand, thanks in part to the boom in the logistics segment, a leading product in the sector in recent years”, concludes the analyst.

Duration of the fall

Unlike the coronavirus crisis, the 2008 crisis reached different regions in Spain at different times; maximum prices were reached in Cataluña, Aragón, Castilla-La Mancha and Castilla y León in 2007, with the Aragonese region peaking first, in the first quarter of 2007, before starting a prolonged 10-year price drop.

Most regions began to register price decreases between 2008 and 2009, with the tardiest ones, Galicia and País Vasco, seeing their prices fall in 2010. Extremadura was the territory where the recovery after the crisis began first, since during the third quarter of 2012, after three years of decline, prices there bottomed out and began to rise. Prices in the Balearic Islands and La Rioja bottomed out in 2013, and in the rest of the regions between 2014 and 2015.

If we talk about the duration of this crisis, from the beginning and until the end of the price decreases, we see significant asymmetry between regions, from the shortest, less than 4 years, in Extremadura, Balearic Islands, La Rioja and Galicia, to the longest, 8 years, in Andalucía and, 10 years, in Aragon.

Madrid and the País Vasco, regions with important industrial centres, suffered falls that lasted 5 years, while Cataluña took almost 7 years to stop its fall.

The end of 2019

The provinces that closed last year (2019) with the highest average transaction values were the Balearic Islands (€909/m2, although that figure represents a recovery of only 7%), Bizkaia (€827/m2), Madrid (€837/m2) and Santa Cruz de Tenerife (€773/m2).

“The reason why these provinces recorded the highest average transaction values is due to factors such as scarcity and the limited nature of the industrial product, such as in the Balearic and Canary Islands, the long industrial history and constant demand in País Vasco and the importance of Madrid as a logistics centre”, describes Ramudo.

By contrast, the provinces that ended 2019 with the lowest average transaction values were Cáceres (€252/m2), Ciudad Real (€260/m2), Jaén (€261/m2) and Palencia (€262/m2). The lack of demand and their isolation, since they are located far away from the major industrial centres, make industrial assets unattractive products in these provinces.

Fotocasa: House Prices in Ibiza Cost 38% More Now Than in 2008

25 April 2019 – El Confidencial

Together with Madrid and Barcelona, the real estate market in the Balearic Islands has led the real estate recovery in recent years. Boosted by its geographical limitations (land for the construction of new homes is finite), the boom in tourist rents and the huge push from foreign demand (foreigners account for 30% of transactions), house prices have soared over the last four years to return to the levels of the bubble, and, in some cases, even higher.

Specifically, house prices in both Ibiza and Calvià are now higher than their historical peaks at the height of the previous cycle (up by 38% and 1.6%, respectively, compared to February 2008). That is according to data published by Fotocasa relating to second-hand homes, which reveals that the number of building permits being granted in the two municipalities has also returned to pre-crisis levels.

In fact, Ibiza is one of the most expensive cities in Spain for buying a home, after San Sebastián and Sant Cugat del Vallès, according to Engel & Völkers. Much of the rise in house prices on the island is due to the strong rise in demand, especially from overseas buyers, with Germans leading the ranking by nationality.

According to the College of Registrars, the Balearic Islands is the second most active autonomous region in Spain in terms of house sales with 13.41 sales per 1,000 inhabitants, outperformed only by the Community of Valencia with 15.88 and ahead of the Community of Madrid with 11.63. Moreover, it is the eighth most active province by absolute number of transactions.

Original story: El Confidencial (by E. Sanz)

Translation/Summary: Carmel Drake

Spaniards Hold onto their Homes for Almost 15 Years on Average

1 April 2019 – El Confidencial

On average, families and individuals in Spain own their homes for 14 years and 8 months, almost double the figure reported in 2009, a year after the burst of the real estate bubble. According to data from the College of Registrars, the average ownership period recorded in 2018 is the longest in the historical series and reflects the fact that purchase decisions nowadays are more prudent and less speculative.

Specifically, 70% of homeowners have not sold their home for almost fifteen years, whilst 80% have owned their homes for more than 8 years. Meanwhile, just 10% of homeowners buy and sell their home within five years.

Moreover, the data reveals that second-hand homes accounted for 82.5% of all transactions in 2018, compared with new homes, which accounted for the remaining 17.5%. At the height of the crisis, the two types were almost on a par. Both of these data are positive for the real estate sector as a whole because they are allowing more sustained growth.

The other major finding to emerge from the Registrars’ data relates to the economic effort that families have to make to buy a home. The mortgage payment over salary percentage was 29.7% in 2018, with higher rates in Madrid (35%) and Cataluña (33%). According to experts, that figure should not exceed 30% if households are to have enough to cover their other expenses. What’s more, the ideal percentage is between 20% and 25%.

Original story: El Confidencial (by E. Sanz)

Translation/Summary: Carmel Drake

Savills: House Sales will Exceed 500,000 Again in 2019

19 February 2019 – Voz Pópuli

For the first time since 2008, more than half a million homes were sold in Spain last year, and the good performance is expected to be replicated in 2019 with forecasts that between 500,000 and 600,000 homes will be sold.

The deceleration of the Spanish economy – which will move from growing at a rate of 2.5% in 2018 to around 2% this year – is not expected to prevent the residential sector from consolidating its growth, although the maximum levels recorded in 2007, when 775,300 operations were signed in the country, is not going to be repeated.

“We do not think that we will return to those figures. Staying at the sales levels seen over the last two years, of close to 550,000 units sold, will be an excellent result”, explained Arturo Díaz, Executive Director of the residential market at the consultancy firm Savills Aguirre Newman, speaking to Voz Pópuli.

He considers that this rate of growth is reasonable if we take into account the rate of household creation in the country, the levels of purchases for investment and the purchases for holiday homes (…).

The real estate consultancy CBRE agrees with this outlook (…). In fact, the firm is more ambitious with its forecasts as it expects 625,000 house sale operations to be closed in 2019, due to an increase in demand (…).

The growth profile

The main real estate consultancy firms all agree that there will be an increase in new build sales in 2019, in parallel to a slight decrease in the sales of second-hand homes, and so the gap between the two will begin to close.

Moreover, they confirmed that a change has taken place in terms of the profile of house buyers in Spain, with large international investors playing an increasingly greater role.

“Whilst a decade ago, demand for residential assets was dominated by domestic private families (individuals), nowadays, the market is characterised by investment vehicles, institutional funds and insurance companies – owned by foreign capital in many cases – the most active players in this segment”, said Lola Martínez Brioso, Head of Research at CBRE.

House prices in Spain rose by 8.2% in 2018, according to the Real Estate Statistics Registry from the College of Registrars, which means that they are still well below the peaks reached during the construction boom. In 2019, the sector expects the price rises to moderate (to around 4-5%) (…).

Although the price rises will be more moderate overall, there will be important differences by area (…). By region, the experts forecast that the large cities and their metropolitan areas will continue to lead the charge in terms of house price rises, specifically, Barcelona, Madrid, Málaga and the major municipalities in those areas.

Díaz also adds that “other large cities such as Valencia and Sevilla are starting to show a high level of activity”, along with certain holiday markets, “such as the Costa del Sol, Costa Blanca and Costa de la Luz, where the recovery in domestic demand, together with the appeal that those regions have for international buyers, is generating a high volume of purchasing activity”.

Original story: Voz Pópuli (by Alejandra Olcese)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Registrars: 400,000 Homes Sold During 9 Months to September 2018

16 November 2018 – Expansión

The housing market is showing a dynamism during 2018 not seen since the years before the crisis. The boost in demand in the last few months has resulted in the sale of almost 400,000 homes during the 9 months to September, the highest figure since 2008, which is driving prices up.

House sales amounted to 396,481 units between January and September, up by 12.5% compared to the same period in 2017, and the highest figure recorded since 2008, when 448,146 units were sold during the first 9 months to September, according to Real Estate Registry Statistics for the third quarter, published yesterday by the College of Registrars.

Data for the first nine months of the year also came close to the figure recorded for 2017 as a whole, bearing in mind that last year 464,223 transactions were closed in total. This year, it is likely that a record figure will be registered, which could reach half a million operations. During the third quarter, 133,295 operations were closed. “These results confirm the notable strength of the housing market (for sales)”, explained sources at the College of Registrars.

The strong dynamism responds in large part to the demand for investment. Buying a home for rent has become an alternative refuge for domestic and overseas investors alike, who find returns in the real estate market that other assets, such as deposits and public debt cannot offer. Moreover, during the last 12 months, the initial interest rate for taking out a mortgage has been at a historical low (2.27%).

The strong activity in the sector is also raising house prices, which increased by 6.7% in YoY terms in the last quarter. The recovery of the sector has allowed prices to rise to 26.5% above their minimum levels. Over the next few months, the registrars expect prices to continue to evolve in line with their current performance, albeit at single-digit rates. The rises will be greater in the main capitals.

These increases are being favoured by the heating up of the sector in certain areas. The largest increases during the third quarter were recorded in Teruel (37%), Huelva (34.8%) and Castellón (33.8%), but Madrid, Barcelona and Málaga led the activity in the market in absolute terms, with 20,048 homes sold in the case of Madrid, 14,217 in Barcelona and 9,828 in Málaga (…).

Foreigners are buying more homes than ever in Spain. According to data from the General Council of Notaries, during the first half of the year, they closed 53,359 operations, the highest absolute figure in the historical series, which began at the start of 2007.

By segment, second-hand homes continue to account for the majority of the market, with 82.4% of sales, compared with 17.57% for new homes (…).

Sources at the College of Registrars detect a possible “scenario that is running out of steam following the intense upward path that has been seen over the last few quarters”, and they warn that we “may have reached a maximum point in the current cycle in terms of the number of house sales”.

That is partly due to the increase in prices, which “is not sustainable or desirable in the current economic situation”. The intense double-digit growth in prices seen in recent months “cannot be borne by a market comprising potential buyers whose incomes cannot absorb such an intense increase in prices”.

But they clarify that it does not mean that we are going to see a correction (reduction) in prices in YoY terms, rather that we can expect more moderate increases (…).

Original story: Expansión (by I. Benedito)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Registrars: House Sales Exceeded 134,000 in Q2 2018

4 September 2018 – Expansión

The housing market is performing well, so much so that forecasts indicate that more than half a million house sales will be completed this year (…) whereby returning to pre-crisis levels.

During the second quarter of the year, 134,196 units were sold, up by 12.4% compared to the same quarter in 2017. That is the highest figure recorded in a second quarter since 2008, when 152,630 sales were registered, according to real estate statistics published yesterday by the College of Registrars.

The slight moderation in GDP growth, which is expected to rise by 2.7% in 2018, according to Government forecasts, has not prevented the real estate market from reaching cruising speed. Domestic demand, which is continuing to sustain the Spanish economy, is allowing for a reduction in the unsold stock of homes, thanks to the pull of large Spanish cities. The strong demand that is driving these figures is also having an impact on prices, which rose by 10.7% between April and June.

“The statistics are continuing to reflect the excellent performance of the sector”, said Ferran Font, Head of Research at Pisos.com, given that during the second quarter, the highest volume of transactions for 40 months was recorded.

The drivers of the increase in prices and demand relate to the increase in consumer confidence in the economy, which has boosted private consumption, and the greater weight of housing as an investment alternative, in a volatile environment where interest rates are low. This behaviour is feeding the forecasts of the experts, who expect 2018 to close with house sales of between 500,000 units, according to the ratings agency S&P, and 600,000, as predicted by the consultancy firm Jones Lang La Salle (JLL).

Nevertheless, the market is not evolving in a homogenous way. On the one hand, the sale of second-hand homes is driving the figures, accounting for 83% of total sales, whilst new build homes are more expensive. Thus, second-hand house sales between April and June recorded their highest figure since the middle of 2007, with 111,537 sales, up by 12.2% compared with Q2 2017. Although by volume there were significantly more second-hand house sales in Q2, it is also worth noting the growth rate of the sale of new build homes, which rose by 12.9% to reach 22,659 units sold.

In terms of prices, the situation is different. In general, new build homes are more expensive than second-hand homes. According to a report published by Pisos.com yesterday, the price of second-hand homes amounted to €1,612/sqm in August, up by 5.5% compared to a year ago.

By contrast, the price of new homes in Spain rose by 5.9% in June, according to data from Sociedad de Tasación. Nevertheless, that figure is skewed by the pull of the large capitals. “The average prices of new homes in Spain rose by 5.9%, but that figure decreases to 2.8% if we eliminate the impact of Madrid and Barcelona, which means that prices are in line with other fundamental factors of the Spanish economy”, indicate sources at Sociedad de Tasación.

The average price of a 90 sqm home in a provincial capital is around €205,600, whilst in the other cities, the average price amounts to €1,605/sqm, which represents a rise of 2.9% compared to 2017.

The Spanish market is still growing at several speeds, with the large cities acting as links in a chain pulling up prices and sales. Madrid, Barcelona and Alicante are the provinces where the most homes were sold during the second quarter (…).

Original story: Expansión (by Inma Benedito)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Who are the Key Players in the Spanish Real Estate Market?

4 May 2018 – El Mundo

House sales are on the rise, as are house prices and rentals. Mortgages are also continuing their upward trend. Moreover, the resurgence of real estate activity is now a reality that can be seen in the increase in the number of new construction and real estate companies.

A recent report published by Gedesco, a firm specialising in financing for companies, says that one in four of the businesses created in Spain during the first quarter of 2018 belonged to the construction or property development sectors.

That represented a volume of almost 6,000 companies, 1.75% more than during the same quarter in 2017. With respect to the last three months of last year, the increase amounts to 21.9%.

Some good news to help us try to forget the fact that 142,576 construction companies disappeared between 2008 and January 2017 – both building firms and property developers -, according to the latest data from Spain’s National Institute of Statistics (INE).

In eight years, the sector went from having almost 360,000 companies to having just 216,987, a reduction of 39%. If we take the look at real estate companies, there were 106,375 in 2008, whereas there were just 67,812 by 2017, almost half.

The data compiled by INE reveals another interesting fact: the construction companies that had more than 5,000 employees in 2008 have disappeared. Although there were actually only three (including building firms and property developers), by 2017, there were just nine companies with 500 or more workers.

Names such as Martinsa Fadesa – created by the businessman Fernando Martín-, Astroc (chaired by Enrique Bañuelos) and Nozar went into the history books of the Spanish real estate sector, after failing to survive the impact of the recession.

Good health

Now, the outlook for the sector is looking healthy, in line with the increase in construction activity, which last year recorded a 28.9% increase in new build permits, to 80,786. According to the latest data from the Ministry of Development, corresponding to the first two months of this year, new home permits rose by 17.4% to 8,035 in February. Estimates in the sector indicate an output of 150,000 homes p.a. for the next few years.

For Elisa Valero, Marketing Director at Gedesco, “the construction sector is back in business”. Nevertheless, the director adds that “the creation of businesses has never gone away, if we look back a few years, the property developers were still there, but the volume of business creation was much lower”.

Whereas 5,000 companies are now being created, in 2011 – at the height of the crisis – just 2,000 were being constituted (…).

Success stories

Another report published in recent weeks by the College of Registrars in Spain also shows that real estate activity in the country is gaining momentum. In 2017, the weight of construction companies and property developers over the total number of businesses constituted rose to 20%, and the rate of growth in relation to 2016 was 14%.

But, looking beyond the figures and back to specific cases (…) we see, for example, that two of the largest property developers of the current cycle were created less than three years ago. The firms in question: Neinor Homes and Aedas, which were created in 2015 and 2016, respectively.

The origins of Vía Célere, another of the important property developers these days, dates back to 2007, at the height of the crisis. The firm emerged after Juan Antonio Gómez-Pintado sold the company that he had chaired, Agofer, and created Vía Célere.

In all three cases, the presence of funds in the shareholding of the companies has stimulated their rates of investment to purchase land on which to build new homes.

Second chances

On the list of property developers that have been created recently, highlights include Kronos Homes, Stoneweg and Q21 Real Estate.

There is another noteworthy name on the current panorama, which, although it cannot be considered a new company, is a clear example of the resurgence of a business after the crisis. The company in question is Metrovacesa. Following a facelift by its creditor banks, it returned to the stock market at the beginning of this year, after abandoning it in 2013.

The firm, controlled by BBVA and Santander, stands out since it is the largest landowner in Spain, amongst the listed property developers, with 6.1 million m2 of land spread over the whole country, with the capacity to build 37,500 homes.

Business transformations such as the one involving Metrovacesa were commonplace during the crisis and resulted in the appearance of new players on the real estate stage.

Another illustrative example has been the birth of the so-called servicers. These companies have emerged in recent years from the former real estate subsidiaries of the banks.

Altamira (whose origins are found in Banco Santander), Servihabitat (La Caixa), and Solvia (Banco Sabadell), amongst others, are fulfilling the mission entrusted to them: to take on the bank’s property, enabling them to complete their clean-ups and to divest the assets by taking advantage of the current boom in activity.

The servicers, whose main activity is located in the Community of Madrid, are also responsible for selling the properties of another one of the stars created in recent years: Sareb, commonly known as the bad bank.

In 2018, that company celebrates its 5th birthday, and during its short life, it has taken over the properties of the entities that have been intervened as a result of the bank restructuring (…).

In recent months, Sareb has also started to market its first new build developments constructed on own land that it holds in its portfolio. In addition, last week, it launched a campaign to sell 3,314 homes along the coast, 95% of which will be lived in for the first time by their new owners.

The Socimis

If there is one group of players that stands out above all of the other newly created real estate companies it is the Socimis.

The real estate investment companies started to trade on the Spanish stock exchange in 2012 as a result of a regulatory change introduced by the Government that gave them free reign to do so.

The Socimis Entrecampos and Promorent were the first to make their debuts. Six years on, there are 51 such companies and, according to some estimates, that number may reach 100 in the future. Merlin, Axiare, Hispania, Lar España, Testa and Colonial – the largest by volume – have all been created in the last four years and are now competing with property developers, such as Neinor and Aedas, on the real estate stage and on the stock market.

In April, one of the newest faces, Sareb’s Socimi Témpore, made its debut. In its first month on the Alternative Investment Market (MAB), it has seen its share price appreciate by 3.85%. When it made its stock market debut, the company’s valuation amounted to €152 million (…).

Original story: El Mundo (by María José Gómez-Serranillos)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Registrars: Mortgage Lending Increased by 10.9% in 2017

23 April 2018 – Eje Prime

The number of mortgages signed to buy homes in Spain during 2017 rose by 10.9% with respect to 2016. According to the Real Estate Yearbook 2017 from the College of Registrars, 310,640 mortgage loans were signed, a figure that represents an increase of 56% compared to the minimum level recorded in 2013. But, despite that significant gain, the figure is still well below the 1.3 million mortgages signed in 2006.

The study reveals that the number of residential mortgages increased in every autonomous region last year, with double-digit growth rates in eight of them. The largest increases were recorded in the Community of Madrid (17.8%), La Rioja (17.8%), Asturias (16.5%), Andalucía (11.7%), Cantabria (11.5%) and the Community of Valencia (11.3%). The regions where the greatest volume of mortgages were signed included Andalucía (60,026), the Community of Madrid (56,866), Cataluña (50,848) and the Community of Valencia (32,408).

In addition to domestic buyers, international purchasers also become more active. In fact, 6.9% of the residential mortgages signed last year were formalised by foreigners, exceeding 21,000 contracts in absolute terms, although three times as many overseas buyers purchased a home in Spain without any financing at all.

The nationalities with the highest percentage weight in terms of residential mortgages signed over the total number of mortgages formalised by foreigners were Romanian (11.6%), British (9.3%), Chinese (8.4%), Italian (5.8%), French (4.6%), Moroccan (4.2%) and German (4%).

Original story: Eje Prime 

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

 

Servihabitat: 9 out of 10 Non-Resident Buyers Prefer the Beach

18 December 2017 – Eje Prime

17% of the homes purchased in Spain today have a foreign accent. During the first half of 2017, 83,675 homes were acquired by foreign buyers, which represents an increase of 10% with respect to the same period last year. Nevertheless, that increase weakened slightly if we look at the previous quarter, according to the Servihabitat Trends report published by the national servicer.

The reason for this annual increase is found in the climate: 83.7% of non-resident buyers in Spain during the first six months of this year focused their attention on just seven provinces, all of which offer sun and sand. Málaga leads the ranking, exceeding even Alicante according to the latest figures. According to data from the Ministry of Development, 30% of all house purchases by foreigners were recorded in Málaga, compared to 23% in Alicante (…).

The data is clear. Almost nine out of every ten foreign buyers in the Spanish market values the quality of life offered by the Mediterranean climate. Another factor to take into account is the reason for the purchase. In this sense, the Government reports that 95.8% of new foreign house buyers in Spain are resident in the country, which accounts for 80,191 properties in total (…). ,

Besides Málaga and Alicante, the other most sought-after provinces by these investors are: Almería (9.6%), the Balearic Islands (9.2%), Las Palmas (5.2%), Tenerife (4.7%) and Murcia (3.5%). Beyond these coastal areas, the remaining 12.7% is spread over the rest of the country, with large cities such as Madrid and Barcelona accounting for a large share.

Influence in the regional market  

As well as the growing number of international investors, their influence in the regional markets where they are interested in buying homes is noteworthy. In regions such as Alicante and Tenerife, overseas investors account for almost half of all residential property purchases in the regions. Similarly, in the Balearic Islands, Málaga, Las Palmas and Girona, the figure exceeds 30%.

In Cataluña and the Community of Madrid, house purchases by foreigners account for 15.9% and 8.8% of the total number of operations, respectively.

At the other end of the spectrum, the regions where fewest foreign investors are active are Extremadura (2.2%), followed by Galicia (2.5%) and País Vasco (3.3%).

Brits lead the investor ranking

In terms of the country of origin of overseas investors in Spain, British buyers continue to constitute the largest community of house buyers in the country, although their market share decreased during the third quarter of this year, from 19% to 15.13%, according to data from the College of Registrars.

The collateral damage from Brexit may have led to that decrease, although the loss in the purchasing power of UK households will have also played its part, due to the depreciation of the pound against the euro, according to the servicer’s report.

After Brits in the ranking of foreign investors in Spain, come the French and Germans, although neither group manages to account for 10% of the total market. The Swedes, Belgians, Italians and Romanians, all with a percentage market share of around 5%, buy similar numbers of homes in the Spanish residential market, which is speaking more languages every day.

Original story: Eje Prime (by Jabier Izquierdo)

Translation: Carmel Drake