House sales up in August despite almost 10% year-on-year price hike

Both house sales and prices continue to rise in Catalonia, growing by 8.1% and 9.8% year-on-year respectively in August.

A total of 5,929 homes were sold in that month. The average price per square meter was €1,891, making Catalonia the third most expensive part of Spain after the Madrid region (€2,465/m2) and the Basque Country (€2,461/m2) according to a Notary Information Center report made public on Thursday.

While these other territories are more expensive, prices in Catalonia rose 4 percentage points more than in Madrid and 3.6 more than in the Basque Country.

The number of mortgages was also up considerably with 21% more compared to August 2021. Mortgages averaged at €166,024 meaning they were just under 5% pricier than a year prior.

More than 26 evictions per day

There are more evictions in Catalonia than in any other part of Spain: more than 26 per day in the second quarter of 2022, over a fifth of Spain's total. 

While in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis most were due to late mortgage payments, now only around a fourth of all evictions are.

Activists in Barcelona have announced plans to protest The District, a real estate fair, on October 19 as there are companies like Blackstone that they consider to be behind the housing crisis that will be in attendance. 

Check out our June 2021 Filling the Sink podcast on Catalonia's housing crisis to listen to stories from the frontline of this ongoing issue.