Housing prices, which in the third quarter of the year, according to INE, increased by 4.2% year–on-year, are recovering mainly due to the cities of Madrid and Barcelona - the two main real estate markets in the country. In particular, by the end of September, the cost of real estate in these two megacities increased by 5% and 3.9%.
Carlos Gomez, Head of Gloval Analytics, explains that the capital «is already registering positive indicators compared to the same period last year». On the other hand, a slight stabilization remains in Barcelona «with a slight decrease in year-on-year fluctuations».
The reason for this discrepancy between the two main real estate markets in Spain, according to Gomez, lies in the fall in demand in Barcelona. This «cooling» occurs in favor of peripheral areas, in which an increase in the average price is registered. There are reasons behind this behavior related to the changing trend in the preference for housing with large spaces.
The demand in Madrid, unlike Barcelona, grew at the expense of peripheral cities such as Vicalvaro, Fuencarral, Carabanchel, Vallecas and San Blas.
For all these reasons, according to the appraiser, the third quarter of the year in Madrid ended with an average price per square meter of EUR 3,303, which is higher than EUR 3,193 recorded for the same period last year. At the same time, in Barcelona, the cost per square meter was EUR 3,487, which is slightly lower than EUR 3,526 at which it was closed in September 2020.