Spanish housing continues to bounce back
The price of second-hand housing in Spain increased by 0.5% in February placing the average cost per square metre at 1,883 euros. Year-on-year, the variation was +2.2%, the fourth year-on-year increase following 11 months of falls (from December 2019 to October 2020).
“One of the most significant consequences that the confinement of 2020 has left us is the great interest in buying a home that has been aroused among the Spanish. A demand that is reflected in practically all communities where second-hand housing prices have increased and the upward trend that began last November continues to be confirmed,” explains Anaïs López, Director of Communications at Fotocasa.
Autonomous Communities
14 autonomous communities presented positive monthly data in the price of second-hand homes for sale in Spain in February 2021. The increases were seen in: Aragon (2.3%), Galicia (1.2%), Catalonia (1.0%), Navarra (0.8%), La Rioja (0.8%), Region of Murcia (0.7%), Canary Islands (0.6%), Andalusia (0.5%), Valencian Community (0.4%), Balearic Islands (0.3%), The Basque Country (0.1%), Madrid (0.1%), Cantabria (0.02%) and Castilla-La Mancha (0.002%). The Communities that saw prices fall include: Extremadura (-1.1%), Asturias (-0.3%) and Castilla y León (-0.2%).
When looking at price ranking for the Autonomous Communities, we find the most expensive second-hand housing prices in Spain are in Madrid and the Basque Country, with prices of 3,071 euros/m² and 2,883 euros/m², respectively. They are followed by the Balearic Islands with 2,833 euros/m², Catalonia with 2,508 euros/m², the Canary Islands with 1,784 euros/m², Cantabria with 1,736 euros/m², Navarra with 1,688 euros/m², Andalusia with 1,651 euros/m², Galicia with 1,602 euros/m², Asturias with 1,581 euros/m², Aragon with 1,581 euros/m², Valencian Community with 1,435 euros/m², Castilla y León with 1,430 euros/m², La Rioja with 1,422 euros/m², Extremadura with 1,165 euros/m², Region of Murcia with 1,147 euros/m² and Castilla-La Mancha with 1,127 euros/m².
Provinces
In 68% of the 50 provinces, second-hand homes increased in price in February. The provinces with the highest increases in the ranking are: Zaragoza (2.2%), Huesca (2.0%), Pontevedra (1.8%), Araba – Álava (1.4%), Lugo (1.4%), Huelva (1.4%), Alicante (1.0%), Girona (0.9%), Navarra (0.8%) and La Rioja (0.8%). On the other hand, the largest monthly decreases were in Soria (-1.8%), Burgos (-1.8%), Badajoz (-1.8%), Gipuzkoa (-1.3%), Teruel (-1.2%), Castellón (-1.0%), León (-0.7%), Cuenca (-0.5%), Zamora (-0.3%) and Valencia (-0.3%).
Regarding prices among the provinces, Gipuzkoa is the most expensive province with 3,201 euros/m², followed by Madrid (3,071 euros/m²) and Barcelona (2,989 euros/m²), among others. On the other hand, the provinces with a price per square meter below 1,000 euros are Ciudad Real with 964 euros/m² and Toledo with 982 euros/m².
In Malaga, the average price per square metre reached 2,280€, with an increase in February of 0.5%.
Provincial capitals
In 32 of the 50 provincial capitals (64%) the price increased in February compared to the previous month. The ten largest monthly increases correspond to the following cities: Huelva capital (3.4%), Pontevedra capital (3.1%), Guadalajara capital (2.8%), Segovia capital (2.4%), Toledo capital (1.9%), Vitoria – Gasteiz (1.8%), Valladolid capital (1.6%), Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (1.5%), Cádiz capital (1.4%) and Zaragoza capital (1,3%).
On the other hand, the ten capitals with the greatest decreases are: Cuenca capital (-1.0%), Pamplona / Iruña (-1.0%), Badajoz capital (-0.8%), Burgos capital (-0.6 %), Tarragona capital (-0.5%), Murcia capital (-0.5%), Seville capital (-0.5%), Almería capital (-0.4%), Salamanca capital (-0.3 %) and Barcelona capital (-0.3%).
“An important aspect to highlight is that although we are detecting monthly decreases in large cities such as Barcelona, Donostia-San Sebastián or Madrid, if we look at the year-on-year increases we see that their comparative percentages with respect to the national average are skyrocketing by more than 100%. (Barcelona Capital 134%, Donostia-San Sebastián 196% and Madrid 104%). This indicates that the demand for home purchases is very solid in these areas and that for this reason, the owners are reluctant to lower prices“, comments the Director of Communication.
Regarding prices, the most expensive provincial capital is Donostia – San Sebastián with 5,576 euros/m², followed by Barcelona capital (4,421 euros/m²), Madrid capital (3,851 euros/m²), Bilbao (3,377 euros/m²), Palma de Mallorca (3,020 euros/m²), Vitoria – Gasteiz (2,620 euros/m²), Cádiz capital (2,484 euros/m²) and A Coruña Capital (2,362 euros/m²).
