December saw prices increase 20.73% in Madrid
The number of purchases/sales of homes in Spain reached 47,254 in November, according to the General Council of Notaries. This represents an annual decrease of 3.6%.
The sale of flats showed a significant annual fall dropping 6.5% year-on-year. This was due to falls in sales of both new property (-7.1%) and also second-hand properties (-5.5%). Only single-family properties showed an interannual increase in sales.
In terms of the average price, the average square metre purchased in November reached €1,359, reflecting a slight increase of 0.2% year-on-year. This slight increase was due to an increase in the costs of both single-family homes (+3%) and that of apartments (+0.3%).
The average price per square metre of second-hand properties stood at €1,479 (-1.5% year-on-year), while the price of new homes increased 14.6% to reach €2,092 per square metre.
December
According to Pisos.com, the average cost per square metre of second-hand housing in Spain in December was €1,672. This represents an annual increase of 6.43%.
The housing market has maintained its upward trend through 2018 but, according to Ferran Font, director of studies at pisos.com, the market could be mixed in 2019 given that in certain areas “a ceiling has been reached.”
Font says that in 2019, “we will have to see how the market responds to the introduction of new regulations on rental properties and also mortgages, while also closely monitoring possible rises in interest rates by the ECB.”
Autonomous Communities
Madrid (20.73%), the Balearic Islands (20.19%) and the Canary Islands (19.78%) were the communities that showed the biggest increases in housing prices, when compared to December 2017. The most striking decreases were seen in Murcia (-7.09%), La Rioja (-6.27%) and Extremadura (-3.72%).
The biggest monthly increase was seen in the Canary Islands (2.73%), while the biggest fall was in the Balearic Islands (-3.61%). However, the Balearic Islands were the most expensive in December with an average cost per square metre of €2,859, while the cheapest was Castilla La Mancha at €877p/m².
In Andalucia, the average price stood at €1,614 representing an increase of 11.39%.
Provinces
The largest interannual increases were seen in Barcelona (22.25%), Madrid (20.73%) and the Balearic Islands (20.19%). The biggest falls were seen in Segovia (-7.40%), Murcia (- 7.09%) and La Rioja (-6.27%). When compared to November, the most striking rise was Guipúzcoa (2.08%), while the biggest fall was in Cuenca (-7.35%). The most expensive province in December was Guipúzcoa (€3,220 p/m²) and the cheapest was Cuenca (€630 p/m²).
Provincial Capitals
Compared to December 2017, the capitals that saw the largest increases were Palma de Mallorca (27.15%), Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (25.49%) and Donostia-San Sebastián (23.89%). The biggest falls were Logroño (-5.23%), Segovia (-3.87%) and Castellón de la Plana (-2.82%). The largest increase compared to November was in Madrid (4.86%) while the largest fall was in Logroño (-6.29%). The most expensive capital was Barcelona (€4,788 p/m²) and the most affordable Avila (€1,004 p/m²).
