Over the past year, prices for apartments in Barcelona have grown to a much greater extent than in other regions of Spain. According to the appraisal company Tinsa, the average cost of an apartment in the Catalan capital is 3 094 euros per square meter, which is 21.7% more than a year ago. In all areas of the city, the percentage growth rates are calculated in double digits.
The most pronounced increase occurred in the zone of Ciutat Velha, where the apartments went up by 35.7%.
The rise in prices was caused by the growing demand among foreigners who were the main buyers of housing in recent months. The most popular areas are Sants-Montjuic which has 22.6%, Horta Guinardó has 20.8%, Nou Barris that has 14.9% and Sant Andreu with 14.6%.
In the more expensive areas of Barcelona, there was a minimal price increase: 11% in Les Corts and 11.6% in Sarrià-Sant Gervasi. The strong price increase also occurred in Eixample (+ 22%), Gracia (+ 12.8%) And San Marti (+ 19.4%). The most expensive square meter of housing was in Sarria – San Gervasi (4,247 euros), and the most affordable – in Know-Barris (2,036 euros).
Because of the increase in the cost of real estate in Barcelona, many families have to look for housing in nearby municipalities. On average, prices for the province increased by 11.9% and reached a mark of 1 963 euros per square meter. In general, in Catalonia, housing has risen in price to 1,744 euros per square (+ 11.3%).
This situation contrasts sharply with the situation in other regions of Spain. In the capital of Catalonia, the cost of apartments has increased 8 times more than the average for Spain (+ 2.7%, to € 1245 per m2).
In eight regions there is a negative dynamics. Among them, the Basque Country (-4.9%), Rioja (-4.6%), Murcia (-4.3%), Castilla and Leon (-2.2%), Castilla-La Mancha (- 1.9%), Cantabria (-0.6%), Extremadura (-0.4%) and the Balearic Islands (-0.3%). In other autonomies, prices are rising, but in a more modest pace compared to Catalonia. According to Tinsa, an active increase is also observed in the metropolitan area, where housing has risen in price by 9% (EUR 1,825 per square meter), and in Madrid itself (+ 10.8%, EUR 2 378).
Among the provincial capitals, a marked increase was also registered in Alicante (+ 12.9%), Vigo (+ 10.2%) and Tarragona (+ 9.4%). As for Catalonia, in the rest of the capitals of its provinces, as of the end of the first trimester, there was a fall in average annual terms. In particular, we are talking about Lerida (-0.8%, 974 euros per square meter) and Girona (-3.1%, 1,469 euros per square meter).
According to appraisers, for the first quarter of this year the average cost of new housing increased to € 2156, which is 3.7% more than in the same period last year. This is the maximum increase in prices in the sector since mid-2015, when they began to fall, as well as from 2007, when the real estate market bubble burst.
The appraisal society estimated that the indicator of efforts to purchase housing has not changed much in the last few months: in Spain, the amount necessary to purchase housing is equal to the sum of 7.5 annual salaries, which is one tenth less than in 2016. The Balearic Islands (15.1 years), Catalonia (8.4), Madrid (8.1) and Cantabria (7.9) show a figure above the national average. At the opposite end are: La Rioja (4.9 years), Castilla-La Mancha (5.2) and Extremadura (5.3).
