Economic growth, rising employment, higher tourism numbers, foreign demand for property and a revival in the mortgage market have combined to send Spanish real estate values sharply higher.
Figures from the national property agency Tinsa show that prices in the major cities rose by 7.5 per cent in 2017, and by 5.7 per cent along the Mediterranean coast. The number of sales in select cities was dramatically up: in Grenada, agents reported 27 per cent more sales in December 2017 than in the same month a year earlier. In Madrid, the figure was 22 per cent, in Valencia 19 per cent and in Malaga 15 per cent.
‘2017 was a positive year for the Spanish property market in terms of sales,’ said Mark Stucklin of real estate analyst Spanish Property Insight. ‘Brexit and the Catalan constitutional crisis were not enough to derail the recovery last year.’
Although economic conditions in Barcelona have been a little subdued due to political uncertainty, rents in the city have now surpassed the average pre-credit crisis peak of €813 per month, with the majority of districts now averaging well above €800 per month.
‘Prices have gone up between 6 per cent and 12 per cent,’ reported national newspaper El Pais. In the Sarrià-Sant Gervasi district, rents have now exceeded €1,200 per month, while they are now above €1,000 per month in Les Corts district.
Prices across the country are forecast to rise further in 2018, with an increase of 8 per cent in transaction volumes, according to Tinsa.
