The average price of new housing increased by 7.1% over the last year, reaching 2,732 euros per m2 in December 2022, thus accelerating its growth rate, according to the ‘Real Estate Sector Trends Report’, prepared by the Appraisal Society.
During the second half of the year, the price has also continued to rise, with a positive half-year variation of 3.4%.
Although the price of new housing continues to rise, the data registered at the end of 2022 is still far from the maximum reached in 2007, when new housing practically reached an average price of 3,000 euros per m2.
With the exception of the autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla, which registered annual increases below the national averageall the autonomies experienced annual increases that oscillated between the 3.9% reached in La Rioja and the 9.1% registered in baleares, the latter being the only community that grew above 9%. Behind the Balearic Islands, it was very close Madridwith an annual increase of 8.5%.
At the opposite extreme are La Rioja, Castilla La Mancha and Extremadura, as the three regions with the lowest annual increases, with growth of around 4%.
In the rest of the autonomous communities, prices experienced increases that oscillated between 5.4% in Galicia and 7.2% in Navarra.
Between July and December 2022, the price of new housing also maintained a general upward trend throughout Spain, with the increases registered in the Balearic Islands (+4.2%) and Madrid (+4%) standing out. At the opposite extreme, Castilla-La Mancha registered a more sustained rise (+2%).
By capital, Barcelona (4,917 euros per m2) continues to register the highest average price of new housing at a national level as of December 2022, followed by Madrid (4,125 euros) and San Sebastián (4,048 euros), being the only capitals that exceed 4,000 euros per m2. At the opposite extreme, Badajoz (1,290 euros), Cáceres (1,271 euros) and Ciudad Real (1,268 euros) presented the lowest average amount.
The price variation during the last year ranges between +2.2% in Ávila and +9.3% in Málaga, the capital where the price of new housing has risen the most.
The real estate confidence index falls
Likewise, according to the analysis, the real estate confidence index published by Sociedad de Tasación has stood at 49.3 points out of 100 at the end of the fourth quarter of 2022, which represents the second consecutive drop in this indicator, which is below the breakeven point (50) for the first time since the second quarter of 2021, when 47.6 points were reached.
The figure for this last quarter has experienced a reduction of 3.2 points compared to the third quarter of 2022.
These results denote, according to the report, that there is less optimism in the sector than in previous quarters in terms of prospects and expectationsboth in terms of the evolution of activity and the sale price of housing, due to the uncertainty derived from the current macroeconomic and geopolitical scenario, as well as the economic forecasts for next year.
All the autonomous communities register decreases in the confidence index, both semi-annually and annually, although they vary between 14 points per semester in the Community of Madrid and La Rioja, up to six points registered in the Canary Islands.
Of the total autonomies, only seven of them register a confidence index that remains in the optimistic zone.
The Balearic Islands is the community with the best rating, with 53.9 points out of 100, while Castilla y León is on the opposite side of the table, with the lowest rate in the entire national territory (44.8 points).
Increase the cost of construction
In addition, the cost of construction of new construction has reached 1,182 euros m2 in December 2022, after registering an increase of 2.3% compared to a year ago. During the last six months, its evolution has also been bullish, with growth of 2% between September and December 2022.
The ratio of construction above ground has stood at 1,068 euros per m2 while that of below ground reaches 366 euros per m2.
More than 7 years of full salary to buy a home
The Real Estate Effort Index prepared by Sociedad de Tasación, whose indicator measures the number of years of full salary that an average citizen needs to allocate for the purchase of an average-type home, has registered a rise of one tenth during the fourth quarter of 2022, reaching 7.6 years of full salary necessary for buyers to purchase a home.
By autonomous communities, Comunidad Valenciana, Murcia and País Vasco registered the greatest increases in quarterly effort, over 4%.
On the other hand, in six communities the index remains unchanged, and La Rioja is the only autonomous region that registers a decrease of 2.1%.
Thus, the differences between communities range from the 9 years that a citizen in the Community of Madrid must allocate for the purchase of a home to the 4.6 years necessary in La Rioja. The Balearic Islands continue to register values well above the national average, since a citizen needs 16.4 years of full salary to be able to acquire a home in this community.
