Residential real estate in the Spanish city of Barcelona topped the country’s list of fastest-appreciating regions, according to the latest figures from national bank BBVA.
The city benefited from a buoyant Spanish economy and rising demand from overseas buyers, pushing the average annual increase in value above 5.6 per cent across the country.
Another report from valuation firm Tinsa predicts that national Spanish sales will jump from 500,000 to more than 625,000 in 2019, with prices increasing by as much as 7 per cent.
German, French and Scandinavian buyers are very active in Mallorca, Ibiza, the Costa Blanca and Costa del Sol, said Marc Pritchard at Taylor Wimpey Espana. He believes that 2019 will be even busier than 2018 as both domestic and overseas demand heats up.
In the first half of 2018, 53,359 homes were acquired by foreign buyers in Spain, compared with a previous high of 33,000 in 2007, as the country’s real estate market reached its peak.
The national real estate index of house prices has risen by 26.5 per cent over the past four years, with Catalonia’s average residential values (including Barcelona) jumping by more than 9 per cent in the past year.
GRE Assets has important development projects in Barcelona
