Summary Real Estate market in 2015

According to most analysts, after many years of fall due to the crisis, the Spanish real estate market recovered in 2015. The phenomenon started in 2014, and the year 2015 confirmed the economists’ forecast. The sector did not retrieve its pre-crisis worth, and it is almost impossible to go back to 2007’s prices, but still, the figures allow us to be optimistic.

One of the proofs that the market is getting better is the reduction of properties in stock. There are around 400 000 new houses left, whereas there were 1,2 millions in 2008.

The decrease of unemployment, the easier access to loans, and the increase of consumers’ trust gave a new impetus to the market.

Summary Real Estate market in 2015

Housing prices

As in 2014, the housing prices kept on increasing. Indeed, last year, the increase of the prices fluctuated between 2,5 and 6%, which never happened since the beginning of the crisis. The areas where the prices increased the most are Girona (10,7), Barcelona (5,8%), Lleida (5,3%), Albacete (4,5%) and Madrid with a 3,3% increase.

Even though overall the prices augmented, it is still too early to talk about a stable recovery, as the rise was fluctuant throughout the months. There are still tensions in the sector.

Of course, the location has a lot to do with the recovery. Indeed, the most significant increases took place in big cities such as Barcelona, Madrid and their areas of influence, and touristic areas such as the Canary Islands, the Balearic Islands, and the Mediterranean coast.

It is interesting noticing that the secondhand market has been very successful. Indeed, in 2015, more than 80% of the sales were secondhand houses, whereas few new houses found buyers.

Rental

During these last years, Spaniards have been tending to favor rental over purchase, the number of people living in rented houses went from 15% to 23%. The main reason is the crisis, but there are other motives such as the mobility regarding work, and the will not to take out a mortgage.

This trend provoked an increase of the prices, and just like for purchase, the cost depends a lot on location, and big cities and their areas of influence witnessed the most significant rises, whereas the prices in areas with weak demand remained stable.

To conclude, 2015 was the year of strengthening for the real estate market, and even though some elements show that the recovery is not totally solid yet and still depends on the economy’s fluctuations, there are good reasons to be optimistic for 2016.