housing

In Spain as a whole housing sales dropped by 38%.New-build apartment sales in Catalonia fell by 35% in August, compared to the same month in 2010.

In the current times of crisis within the real state market, money from Russian tourists is particularly noticeable. Rich Russian citizens come to Tarragona’s Costa Daurada to buy houses close to the seashore. Their search is on for "exclusive homes'' with attached land to use them as summer houses or as a base to permanently relocate to. When not using the house, they may rent them.

In larger cities, the new housing stock is much smaller and in Barcelona it is almost non existent. However, in other towns and rural areas the current stock will not be completely absorbed until 2015, according to a study from CatalunyaCaixa. Prices will stabilise in larger cities and still drop by 10% where the larger stocks are concentrated. The Catalan housing market is now in better shape than in the rest of Spain. In Catalonia the new housing stock decreased by 2,000 units, while in Spain as a whole it increased by 2%.

‘Construmat’ is Spain’s main trade fair for the construction industry and will run until Saturday May 21st. Barcelona’s fair will have a “sister” event in China next year, with Chinese companies but also with those present at the current ‘Construmat’.

During the first three months of 2011, housing prices dropped by 4.5% compared to the same period in 2010. The end of fiscal advantages for property purchase is the main reason behind this drop. The average square metre price in Catalonia is now set at 2,145.2 euros. These prices have not been seen since early 2006 and represent a 14% drop compared with the historic maximum in 2008.

Compared to 2009, real estate sales increased by 21.4% in Catalonia. The Catalan market’s activity triples the Spanish average. However, forecasts for 2011 are no so optimistic due to the VAT increase and the end of the fiscal deduction for purchasing houses and flats.

The average price per square meter was 2681 euros at the end of last year. Catalonia has the third most expensive property market within Spain, after the Basque Country and Madrid.

Information published by the Catalan Ministry of Public Works shows that real estate transcations went down 22% in the third trimester after 3 trimesters of consecutive increases.

80% of Catalan municipalities registered decreases or stock stagnation during the 1st trimester of the year. For the 2nd trimester of the year, Catalonia registered decreases in real estate stock for the first time since 2006.

Catalonia has experienced the 8th month in a row of continuous increases in housing sales in relation to the same month of last year. This data confirms the slow recovery of the sector. However, in comparison to July 2010, housing sales dropped 6%.

The data compares to July of 2009 and confirms an 8-month trend of continuous increases. For the rest of Spain, there has been an increase of 16.4%. This data confirms construction market’s recovery.

Economic crisis is hitting some families unmercifully. 40,000 families that could not pay back their mortgage have lost their homes, according to a study made by the General Workers’ Union (UGT) and a consumers association presented today. A judicial procedure that permits banks and savings banks to survey homes and put them up for auction for 50% of their value is putting thousands of families in the risk of social exclusion.

Official figures indicate that around 7,700 buildings were built in Catalonia in the first six months of 2010; more than half the number constructed in the whole of 2009

The Barometer of confidence in the housing sector indicates a restoration of trust for the first time since the beginning of the economic crisis

The Housing Prices continue to decrease but in a smaller pace. Housing prices in Catalonia have dropped by 2.3% compared to last year. In the Spanish state, a drop of 3.6% was recorded.