Q2 Saw Housing Prices increase 1.6% in Spain
The price of housing in Spain didn’t go down as expected in the second quarter despite the corona virus lockdown. In fact, prices increased by 1.6% when compared to the previous quarter.
Year-on-year the average price went down by 1.9%, but this was nothing like the change that some experts were predicting during the national health crisis. The average price of property per square metre now stands at 1,874 euros. This is the first Q2 annual fall for the last three years following an increase of 1.8% in 2017, 3% in 2018 and 0.5% in 2019.
“At the moment, homeowner with property on the market are not lowering prices due to the coronavirus and the offer prices are being maintained. In fact, in the second quarter, which was covered 100% by the pandemic and national lockdown, prices have not fallen, but rather increased slightly by +1.6% compared to the first quarter of the year. It is possible that during the second half the year we will begin to see somewhat more pronounced year-on-year decreases, although we do not expect large drops in the price of second-hand housing either,” explains Anaïs López, Communications director at Fotocasa.
Price by Autonomous Community
Regarding prices in the Autonomous Communities, the highest quarterly increase was seen in Navarra with prices rising 3.1%. They are followed by Castilla-La Mancha (2.1%), Catalonia (1.9%), Asturias (1.7%), Galicia (1.7%), Murcia (1.6%), the Basque Country (1.3%), Aragon (0.9%), Andalusia (0.7%), Valencian Community (0.5%), La Rioja (0.4%), Extremadura (0.3%), the Balearic Islands (0.2%) and Castilla y León (0.1%).
However, average house prices in Madrid (-1.6%), Cantabria (-0.4%), and the Canary Islands (0.2%), are lower in June than three months ago (March 2020).
As for the price ranking by communities, Madrid, which occupies the first place, is the only one that surpasses the barrier of 3,000 euros, specifically, an average square metre of second-hand housing costs 3,050 euros. They are followed by the communities of the Basque Country (2,839 euros/m²), the Balearic Islands (2,764 euros/m²) and Catalonia (2,470 euros/m²).
On the other hand, housing prices per square meter in 13 autonomous communities do not exceed 2,000 euros and are: the Canary Islands (1,774 euros/m²), Navarra (1,722 euros/m²), Cantabria (1,717 euros/m²), Andalusia (1,651 euros/m²), Asturias (1,581 euros/m²), Aragon (1,575 euros/m²), Galicia (1,575 euros/m²), Castilla y León (1,439 euros/m²), La Rioja (1,418 euros/m²), Valencia (1,417 euros/m²), Region of Murcia (1,168 euros/m²), Castilla-La Mancha (1,139 euros/m²) and Extremadura (1,115 euros/m²).
Housing Prices Up in 31 Provinces
In the second quarter of 2020 the price of housing increased in 31 of the 50 provinces of Spain. Quarterly increases range from 5.9% in Palencia to 0.03% in Valladolid. However, the province with the steepest decline is Huesca, which has seen its average prices drop -4.1% in June compared to March 2020. It is followed by Santa Cruz de Tenerife (-2.9%), Madrid (-1.6%), Córdoba (-1.4%) and Lleida (-1%).
As for the price ranking by provinces, Gipuzkoa and Madrid are the only ones that surpass the barrier of 3,000 euros, specifically Gipuzkoa has an average price per square metre of 3,054 euros, while in Madrid the average is 3,050 euros.
Only five provinces have an average property price between 2,000 and 3,000 euros/m²: Barcelona with 2,990 euros/m², Bizkaia with 2,829 euros/m², the Balearic Islands 2,764 euros/m², Araba – Álava with 2,384 euros/m² and Malaga with 2,269 euros/m². Only two provinces have prices below 1,000 euros per square metre. They are Toledo and Ciudad Real with 985 euros/m² and 991 euros/m², each.
