The average value of housing remains at levels of November 2013, with an accumulated decrease of 38.6% since 2007. The average of the fourth quarter of 2017 (October-December) shows a growth in Spain of 4.2% regarding the same period of the previous year.
"The residential market has been characterized by moderate price increases in 2017 and we expect this trend to continue in 2018, with average growth of less than 5%. Although there will still be significant differences between territories, the recovery will be extended to a greater number of locations. The big capitals will continue to be the most active markets, although they will undoubtedly moderate the growth rates we have seen this year”, says Jorge Ripoll, director of the Tinsa Research Service.
Increase of less than 5% in 2018 and increase in the trading of houses
The good shape of the market, encouraged by the positive forecasts of economic growth and stabilization of the labor market, will reflect in an increase of between 10% and 15% in the purchase and sale of houses, which will exceed 550,000 transactions. "As confidence grows and salaries are normalized, part of the rental demand will begin to transfer to purchase," says Ripoll, who estimates the expected increase in the number of new construction visas by around 20% in 2018.
Housing has accelerated in 2017 its growth from the 1.7% year-on-year that ended 2016. After the revaluation of 7.5% registered in the "Capitals and large cities", the area that has increased the average price the most is the "Mediterranean coast", where the index shows an YoY increase of 5.7%, followed by "Balearic and Canary Islands", with an increase of 3.8% in December, regarding the same month of the previous year.
The year 2017 marked the start of recovery in the "metropolitan areas", where average values have increased by 3.7% in December compared to a year before, compared to the 0.6% year-on-year recorded by this group in December 2016. The smallest cities, grouped in "Other cities", maintained their prices in the last year with hardly any changes (-0.4%).