Anticipa: 230,000 New Homes Will Be Built Before 2018

22 October 2015 – Expansión

The supply of housing in Spain will grow by 20% p.a. and the market will receive around 230,000 new homes between now and 2018, according to a study by Anticipa and Josep Oliver, a professor at the Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona, which was presented at Barcelona Meeting Point yesterday.

Spain currently has 983,000 homes to sell. In 2018, there will be 978,000 empty units. The accumulation of unoccupied housing stock, which partly explained the crisis in the sector, will remain stable for the rest of this decade and will only decrease if fewer homes than forecast are built. It is expected that the economic improvement will help the formation of new households – and the demand for homes – despite the falling population.

Lluís Marsá, President of the Property Developers (Association) of Barcelona (APCE), warned that the pace of house construction in Cataluña is four times lower than it should be, but he did not dare to predict when it would return to its normal ratio of 3.5 new homes per thousand inhabitants.

The recovery is very heterogeneous. “We have a two-speed market in Spain and when some people hear talk of recovery in the country, it would not be unreasonable for them to respond with a comment such as: “What are you talking about?””, said the CEO of Neinor Homes Madrid, Juan Velayos, during a talk.

Whilst Madrid and Barcelona have shortages, there are still lots of unsold properties left in unpopulated areas, as the CEO of Vertix Barcelona, Elena Massot, highlighted. She warned that the price of land may rise due to the entry of funds into the market.

The experts point to a rise in rentals, which have increased from 10% to 17% in recent years. “This figure is going to continue to rise”, said the Director General of Servihabitat’s real estate business, Juan Carlos Álvarez.

One segment that is very much not in crisis is the hotel sector, which will grow by 72% in 2015 to €1,900 million, according to the consultancy CBRE. This volume reflects a return to pre-crisis levels.

Original story: Expansión (by A. Zanón)

Translation: Carmel Drake