Lorraine Williamson
House prices in Spain remain high, both for those who want to buy and those who want to live in a rental property. And all because the price in both segments continues to rise month after month. The price of existing homes was even 8.7% higher in the third quarter compared to last year.
According to these figures from housing platform Idealista, the average price of a property in Spain is €2,182 per square metre. In other words, a 100-metre house would be worth €218,200. There are several factors that influence this price increase.
Reduction of supply
One of them is the reduction in available supply. According to the real estate market, this supply has decreased by 10% year-on-year between the third quarter of last year and the current one. In which cities are there fewer houses for sale?
Differences between cities
In 48 of all provincial capitals, the number of homes on the market has fallen in the past year. And striking among them is Oviedo, where the supply decreased the most. The housing supply has fallen by 32%. A Coruña and Pontevedra follow, both with a decrease of 30%. This is followed by Seville and Zaragoza (-29% in both cases), Valencia and Teruel (-28%), and Santander and Burgos (-26%).
In Madrid, the decrease was 23%, above Barcelona and Bilbao, by 19%. In Malaga the decrease was 14%, in Palma 13%, in Alicante 11% and in San Sebastian 7%.
Three exceptions
At the other end of the scale, there are three provincial capitals where the available supply has not decreased. These are Girona with an increase of 8%, Badajoz with 7% and Cuenca with 1%. In Cáceres, the offer has remained the same.
Causes of housing shortage
“We have had years in which the lack of vision in the development of land for new housing, the high cost of labour, bureaucratic mazes and the disappearance of construction companies have played the main roles,” said Francisco Iñareta, spokesman for Idealista.
And he concludes: “All these factors have led to the situation we are in now, with supply falling by double digits and house prices reaching record highs, even above those at the height of the housing bubble. Once again, the most vulnerable families, who fall through the cracks, are the biggest victims.”
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