Housing showed the first Q2 fall in four years
In Spain, the price of second-hand housing underwent a quarterly decrease of -0.7% in the second quarter of 2021 and a year-on-year increase of 0.5%. This places the average price at 1,883 euros p/m², according to data from Fotocasa. The quarterly decline (-0.7%) in property for sale is the first drop in this period after four years of increases.
“These figures are a sign that the price of housing is on the verge of starting a cycle of moderation produced by a lull in activity in purchasing demand. The quarterly figures return us to levels similar to 2016, when the price of second-hand housing showed declines. At the year-on-year level, we find moderate growth that will probably continue with a downward trend and formalize stabilization in the coming months. We must remember that it is a change of course that we detected at the end of 2019 after three years of uninterrupted increases in the price of housing,” says María Matos, Director of Studies at Fotocasa.
Autonomous Communities
Regarding the Autonomous Communities with the greatest quarterly decrease, Region of Murcia leads the June ranking with -3.5%. Following are Navarra (-2.6%), Aragon (-2.6%), Castilla-La Mancha (-2.4%), the Canary Islands (-2.3%), Extremadura (-1.8%), Valencia (-1.4%), the Balearic Islands (-1.1%), Asturias (-1.0%), La Rioja (-0.8%), Andalusia (-0.3%), Castilla and León (-0.3%), Galicia (-0.2%) and the Basque Country (-0.2%). However, average house prices in Madrid (0.2%), Cantabria (0.1%) and Catalonia (0.1%) are higher in June than three months ago (March 2021).
Regarding the ranking of property for sale in Spain by price, by communities, Madrid, which occupies the first place, is the only one that exceeds the barrier of 3,000 euros, specifically about 3,111 euros per square metre. It is followed by the communities of the Basque Country (2,870 euros p/m²), the Balearic Islands (2,848 euros p/m²) and Catalonia (2,522 euros p/m²). On the other hand, housing prices per square metre in 13 autonomous communities do not exceed 2,000 euros and they are: the Canary Islands (1,772 euros p/m²), Cantabria (1,743 euros p/m²), Andalusia (1,666 euros p/m²), Navarra (1,626 euros p/m²), Galicia (1,613 euros p/m²), Asturias (1,570 euros p/m²), Aragon (1,554 euros p/m²), Castilla y León (1,435 euros p/m²), La Rioja (1,432 euros p/m²), Valencia (1,422 euros p/m²), Extremadura (1,160 euros p/m²), Region of Murcia (1,122 euros p/m²) and Castilla-La Mancha (1,108 euros p/m²).
Provinces
The data also reveals that in the second quarter the price of housing fell in 34 of the 50 provinces of Spain. The quarterly decreases range from -4.9% in Las Palmas to -0.02% in Pontevedra. On the other hand, the province with the most marked increase is Soria, which has seen its average prices rise 6.7% in June compared to March 2021. They are followed by Lugo (3%), Segovia (2.3%), Teruel (1.7%) and Ourense (1.6%), among others.
Looking at the ranking of property for sale in the provinces by price, Gipuzkoa and Madrid are the only ones that exceed the 3,000 euro barrier, specifically 3,143 euros per square metre in Gipuzkoa and 3,111 euros per square metre for Madrid. Only six provinces place the price of housing between 2,000 and 3,000 euros p/m²: Barcelona with 2,968 euros p/m², the Balearic Islands with 2,848 euros p/m², Bizkaia 2,842 euros p/m², Araba – Álava with 2,489 euros p/m², Malaga with 2,338 euros p/m² and Girona with 2,063 euros p/m². On the other hand, the three provinces that do not exceed 1,000 euros are Ciudad Real with 963 euros p/m², Toledo with 975 euros p/m² and Ávila with 994 euros p/m².
