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5 June 2018 – Eje Prime
Spain is still a long way from the dizzy heights of 2006, but its stock of housing is gradually recovering the colour it lost during the decade when the sun shone very little over the new build sector. Last year, 60,888 municipal licences were signed for the construction of new homes, which represents almost twice as many as the 31,213 permits that were granted five years ago, according to data from the Ministry of Development.
Moreover, in YoY terms, the increase in the number of licences for the construction of residential buildings was 6.5%, with even greater rises in certain autonomous regions, such as Cataluña, where the increase to November exceeded 50%.
Nevertheless, the region where most new homes are being built, Madrid, recorded a slight decline in 2017. Following a significant increase in the number of licences during the beginning of the new economic cycle, last year, that market for the construction of new homes lost speed with a decrease of 4.4%.
In total, in the Spanish capital and its surrounding area, 14,018 licences were signed last year for residential construction, a figure that doubles the number recorded in 2016, but which represents a decrease of more than 650 homes at a time when there is great demand from Spanish and international investors.
The recovery of the Madrilenian residential market is clearly understood in the increase in the number of licences for the construction of new homes experienced first between 2013 and 2015, and, more importantly, during 2016. Five years ago, 6,134 permits were signed in the central region, in an annus horribilis that followed a 2012 in which Madrid approved 17,000 licences. After that, 24 months of stabilisation in the segment with the registration of between 7,000 and 8,000 licences (in total) for new homes, proceeded a 2016 that doubled the figures with 7,500 administrative signings of contracts for residential development.
The shortage of land and the obstacles imposed by Town Halls such as Madrid’s (…) have led to a fall that is heating up the market and generating problems for the whole sector. Other autonomous regions, such as Navarra, Aragón, Asturias and Murcia also recorded decreases in 2017, going against the tide (…) and once again showing signs that Spain is moving at two speeds in the residential sector.
Significant increases on the Mediterranean Coast
The Mediterranean coast is proving to be the engine for new housing in Spain. Regions such as Cataluña, the Community of Valencia, the Balearic Islands and the Málagan section of the Costa del Sol are registering significant growth figures in terms of the number of licences granted for the construction of housing.
Cataluña is on a roll with the construction of homes, with an increase of 50% during the first ten months of last year. To November, 9,815 licences were signed and sources in the sector have said to Eje Prime that the forecast for the end of the year was 12,100 permits, up by 35% compared to 2016 (…).
Heading south, the Community of Valencia has developed in a similar way to the Catalan market over the last five years. It doubled its annual figures between 2013 and 2017, from 3,142 permits to 6,588, but the greatest increase came in 2016. In just twelve months, the Mediterranean region increased the number of licences from 4,712 to 6,540, up by 39%.
The markets in the Balearic Islands and Andalucía, where the Costa del Sol plays a prominent role, have also shown clear signs of improvement in recent years. On the islands, permits for new build almost tripled between 2015 and 2017 from 826 to 2,391 (…).
Meanwhile, in Andalucía, although the growth percentage was similar, the increase was calculated on a larger volume of homes. As one of the areas with the highest demand for new home permits, the region (…) closed 2017 with 12,363 licences. Just five years earlier, that figure barely exceeded 5,000 (…).
Original story: Eje Prime (by J. Izquierdo)
Translation: Carmel Drake
