Today, the decision to buy new housing or housing from the secondary market in Spain can often be only theoretical. Even if a person has the means to do this, there is a huge shortage of residential real estate on the market. Even in the secondary segment, the situation is tense and developers, at the same time, only reduce the number of objects being launched and put on sale.
According to Jose Maria Basanes, president of the real estate appraisal company Tecnitasa, indicates: "According to estimates, the supply of new housing in Spain in recent years covers only half of the existing demand. The approximate figures are less than 100,000 new homes per year, while the growth in the number of households is about 200,000 annually".
Francisco Inarreta, representative of the Idealista portal, adheres to an even more pessimistic assessment: "In addition to the growing cost of building materials and the high cost of labor, new housing faces constant delays at the level of public administration. The latter not only delay the issuance of new land for construction, but also often hinder the rapid launch of projects in local markets that are in dire need of new proposals. The only thing left for buyers this year is to look for offers on the secondary market".
Thus, both home buyers and investors will have to limit their appetites to second-hand housing and be ready to spend money on its renovation, for example, if they decide to rent it out or resell it. The costs will not be small, because the prices of secondary housing are also growing. According to the latest data from Tasaciones Inmobiliarias for January, house prices rose by 0.3%. At the same time, the province and small towns grew stronger. Expensive large municipalities and provincial capitals have slowed down a bit in their rise in price.
At the same time, Christina Arias, director of the research department at Tinsa, earlier this year released a report indicating that the demand for residential real estate began to decline (approx. due to the inability to buy anything), therefore, the potential for a subsequent drop in prices is growing. However, at the moment there is no noticeable drop in prices or decline in activity. These are just trends that will manifest themselves in the future.
Carlos Smerdou, CEO of Foro Consultores Inmobiliarios, confirms the observation that many buyers are now moving to the secondary market due to a shortage of new facilities. Prices will hold, and even grow, in the near future in such popular destinations as Madrid, Barcelona or Malaga. In January 2023, the price per square meter of housing in the secondary market of Spain remains at the level of 1,920 euros. According to data from Idealista, this is only 0.1% lower than the level of December 2022.