The housing market in Spain is experiencing a moment of boom in real estate transactions refers, after the paralysis of economic activity due to the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, and which forced a period of confinement of the population in homes, between mid-March and mid-June 2020. From historical falls in the data monthly payments from notaries, registrars or the Statistics National Institute In the worst months of the health crisis, increases are occurring that have not been seen since the real estate boom of the first decade of the new century.
Existing home transactions continue to have a greater weight in the total volume of operations, but today we are going to focus on new home sales data, provided by the Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda (Mitma), collected by the General Council of Notariesuntil the second quarter of 2021.
According to official statistics, provisional data between April and June of this year show 177,207 housing transactions, the highest figure since the end of 2007, at the height of the real estate boom. Of these, more than 17,100 are new-build homes, representing 9.7% of the total in this period. It is not the greatest weight reached by new houses, but it has remained constant since the end of confinement with a average of 16,000+ new homes soldimproving the pre-pandemic data.
Comparing the figures from the second quarter of 2020, when the worst moments of the covid-19 crisis were experienced in April, May and June of last year, to the second quarter of this year, 82,216 new houses have been bought21.5% more than in the same previous period, that is, the five previous quarters (1Q 2019-1Q 2020).
The paralysis of economic activity, which caused the construction of houses to be totally paralyzed for many weeks, has been delaying the delivery of these residential properties. And it has been noticed in the boom in transactions, especially at the end of 2020, when in the In the fourth quarter, more than 20,000 operations were closed, numbers for new construction that had not been seen since 2012, at a time when the last constructions that were aimed at in the heat of the real estate boom were being completed. It is worth remembering how far are those years where more than 100,000 new homes were purchased in some quarters of 2006 and 2007.
But,Where have more houses been bought in Spain after the worst of the pandemic? If we go to the breakdown by provinces, it can be seen that the main residential markets are maintained, with Madrid in the lead (17,840 transactions), followed at a distance by Barcelona (7.325), Málaga (7,179), Alicante (5,932) and Valencia (4,243). The data from Seville (3,279), Cádiz (2,105), Murcia (2,084) or Vizcaya (2,053) also stand out. All of them improving the pre-pandemic sales figures, except Alicante.
But if we zoom in on those municipalities that have registered a greater volume of operations on new houses, the weight of Madrid towns over the rest of Spain, the diversification of operations in the province of Barcelona, or the rise of areas coastal.
The Madrid city leads the acquisition of new houses in the last year (2Q 2021/2Q 2022) with more than 5,500 transactions; followed by Málaga (2.054) y Valencia (1,804) in the top 3. Behind, Rivas-Vaciamadrid (1,269), a town bordering the capital, with more than 88,000 inhabitants, is among the municipalities with the most new houses purchased in Spain after the pandemic, ahead of the city of Sevilla (1.159).
Exactly that figure is repeated by two other Madrid towns such as Alcala de Henaresthe third largest city in Madrid, and Boadilla del Monte, with one of the highest per capita incomes in Spain. Zaragoza (1,157), the Malaga town of Estepona (1,073) and the city of Córdoba (1,048) complete the top 10, and above the 1,000 new homes for sale in the last year.
The city of Barcelona does not appear until position 13with ‘barely’ 951 new homes transacted in the post-pandemic period, behind two other Madrid towns: Torrejón de Ardoz (981) and Getafe (968).
The diversification of the purchase of new construction in the province of Barcelonawhich is the second largest in Spain, behind Madrid, is confirmed by the relatively ‘low’ data for Barcelona, and which is accompanied by other important towns in the Metropolitan Area such as Badalona (763), L’Hospitalet de Llobregat (679) or Sabadell (525).
While, coastal areas They are also experiencing continuity and growth in the purchase of new houses between the pre-pandemic and post-pandemic periods, with clear examples such as Orihuela, which practically matches its provincial capital Alicante (864 and 863 operations on new houses, respectively); Fuengirola, in Malaga (764); Torrevieja, in Alicante (532); Mijas (522), in Almería, or Jerez de la Frontera (471), in Cádiz.
Las provincial capitalsDespite having the majority of the main housing stocks, they have not taken the top positions, but they have not been left out of the list either. The large cities already mentioned above are joined, for example, by Pamplona (905), San Sebastián (680), Palma (651), Burgos (610), Oviedo (580), Valladolid (541) or Murcia (529).
The Balearic Islands (664,000 euros), where the most expensive new houses are bought
Along with the number of housing transactions, the Mitma also offers the average value of these purchase and sale operations at the province level. During the second quarter of 2021, the average value reached its highest level since the data reference was taken in 2004, to reach 254,480 euros, exceeding the data for the fourth quarter of 2020. In fact, in the last four quarters of study (from Q3 2020 to Q2 2021), the average value has exceeded 250,000 euros, above the average for the period before the outbreak of the pandemic. Only in the fourth quarter of 2019 (251,187), values over a quarter of a million euros were registered.
By regions, The Balearic Islands is, by far, the province where the most has been paid to acquire a new home, with its 663,907 euros, increasing the highest values seen before in the archipelago itself (590,353 in Q1 2020 and 559,467 in Q4 2019). To make a comparison with the pre-pandemic period: in the second quarter of 2019, the average price of operations reached 312,549 euros. Never in Spain had an average value of new free housing transactions been seen as high as that registered in the Balearic Islands in the last quarter.
Never in Spain had an average value of new free housing transactions been seen as high as that registered in the Balearic Islands in the last quarter
Behind, and at almost half the price, is Madridcon its 369,315 euros, also a provincial record in the average value that has been paid to buy new houses. In 12 of the last 11 quarters, the average price of the new home transacted in Madrid has exceeded 300,000 euros.
The third drawer of the podium for prices between April and June of this year has been Malaga, with 340,400 euros, although this time it is not the highest amount seen so far in that province. In the third quarter of 2019, an average value of 428,480 euros was reached, until then the highest reached in Spain. The purchase of luxury villas in the ‘prime’ areas of these provinces marks the average value of the transactions.
It is also worth noting the prices that have been reached in Guipúzcoa (323,175 euros) or the 298,982 euros in Barcelona, which do not represent, despite being above the national average, their highest figures, in both cases.
