Good news for buyers as prices fall slightly
Second hand housing in Spain saw a small price drop in January with prices shrinking by 0.3%, when compared to December. The annual variation was -1.9%, bringing the average price per square metre to 1,841 euros, according to the fotocasa real estate index. The national average is a massive 40% lower than the average in the Community of Madrid where the average square metre of used property costs 3,053 euros!
Ten autonomous communities saw prices fall in January 2020. The biggest fall was in the Balearic Islands where prices dropped by 1.5%. This was followed by falls in Galicia (-0.6%), Asturias (-0.6%), Castilla y León (-0.4%), Extremadura (-0.4%), Region of Murcia (-0.3%), Navarra (-0.2%), Valenciana (-0.1%) and La Rioja (-0.1%), and the Basque Country (-0.1%).
Meanwhile, prices of second hand property increased in the Canary Islands (+1%), followed by Madrid (0.8%), Castilla-La Mancha (0.7%), Cantabria (0.6%), Aragon (0.6%), Catalonia (0.4%), and Andalusia (+0.03%).
Madrid Most Expensive
Regarding the ranking of Autonomous Communities by the price of second-hand housing, the two most expensive in Spain are Madrid and the Basque Country, with prices of 3,053 euros/m² and 2,797 euros/m², respectively. They are followed by the Balearic Islands (2,744 euros/m²), Catalonia (2,424 euros/m²), Canary Islands (1,791 euros/m²), Cantabria (1,728 euros/m²), Andalusia (1,630 euros/m²), Navarra (1,614 euros/m²), Aragon (1,586 euros/m²), Galicia (1,565 euros/m²), Asturias (1,541 euros/m²), Castilla y León (1,433 euros/m²), La Rioja (1,412 euros/m²), Valencian Community (1,406 euros/m²), Region of Murcia (1,164 euros/m²), Castilla-La Mancha (1,108 euros/m²) and Extremadura (1,093 euros/m²).
Ismael Kardoudi, Director of Studies and Training at Fotocasa said “We started the year 2020 with a year-on-year variation in January that shows a drop of -1.9%, which is another clear symptom that the price of housing in Spain is moderating and that we have left behind the great interannual increases that we had been seeing only a year ago. However, in communities such as Madrid, the Canary Islands and the Balearic Islands, prices continue to rise more strongly than in the rest of the country, where we see more moderate behaviour or even already record year-on-year falls in the price of housing for sale,”
Rises in 24 of 50 provinces
In 24 of Spain’s 50 provinces second-hand property prices increased in January. The top-ten provinces by price increase were Guadalajara (3.1%), Jaén (2.1%), Huesca (1.9%), Santa Cruz de Tenerife (1.9%), Toledo (1, 8%), Huelva (0.9%), Granada (0.9%), Madrid (0.8%), Soria (0.6%) and Cantabria (0.6%). On the other hand, the three provinces that saw the biggest price falls were Teruel (-2.3%), Cáceres (-2%) and Cuenca (-1.9%).
As for prices, Madrid is the most expensive province with an average prices of 3,053 euros/m², followed by Gipuzkoa (2,998 euros/m²) and Barcelona (2,964 euros/m²), among others. The most economical province is Toledo with 980 euros/m².
Price rises in six out of ten capitals
In 29 of the 46 provincial capitals (63%) prices increased in January compared to the previous month. The ten largest monthly increases were seen in Toledo (11.9%), Bilbao (9.3%), Murcia (9.1%), Alicante (8.7%), Tarragona (8.3%), Barcelona (8.2%), Donostia – San Sebastián (7.3%), León (6.8%), Madrid (6.3%) and Ourense (6.2 %). The three capitals with the greatest decreases were A Coruña (-7.4%), Pamplona / Iruña (-6.7%) and Palma de Mallorca (-4.8%).
Regarding prices, the most expensive province capital is Donostia – San Sebastián with 5,423 euros/m², followed by Barcelona (4,509 euros/m²), Madrid (3,916 euros/m²), Bilbao (3,239 euros/m²), Palma de Mallorca (2,991 euros/m²), Vitoria – Gasteiz (2,523 euros/m²), Cádiz (2,398 euros/m²) and Pamplona / Iruña (2,380 euros/m²).
