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What are the impacts of Coronavirus on the Spanish real estate?

STEPHANE — Mon, 04 May 2020 15:42:05 +0000

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What are the impacts of Coronavirus on the Spanish Real Estate Market?

In this article we review the different impacts of Coronavirus on the Spanish real estate market. However, as habits and behaviours will change, many conclusions drawn for the Spanish market will apply to several real estate markets across the world.

Are we going into a big crisis for the real estate market in Spain? Is the 2008 crisis returning?

As we will see in our analysis, the situation is not the same:

Supply and demand: the current real estate market is in a much greater state of equilibrium following the rebound over the last 6 years
There is less financial leverage in the system
The market is not ‘oversupplied’ by thousands of levered promoters
Bank balance sheets are much stronger than in 2008

Read our in depth analysis for more: Are distressed sales back in Spain?

At the same time, Shelter-In-Place orders have a big impact on economies worldwide and in Spain: businesses and consumers are suffering across the globe.

How the economy will evolve in the future remains an important question as consumer income and confidence is the long term key to any real economic recovery.

To have a good understanding of the situation, it is important to first understand the Pandemic itself:

What are the effects of Coronavirus on people?

The illness itself and the Shelter-In-Place orders

Effects of Coronavirus on people

After that, it is important to understand

What are the impacts of the Coronavirus on the Spanish Economy?

The current situation, easing of lockdown measures, the Bank of Spain GDP, tourism in Spain and the future recovery shape.

Impacts of Coronavirus on Spanish Economy

Before further analysing the impacts of Coronavirus on the Spanish real estate market, we can already draw three conclusions:

Spaniards will search for different properties in the future
The economy will be running at a slower speed which means less real estate transactions and lower prices in general
There will be more opportunities available. As you may know, the term ‘crisis’ in Chinese is composed of two Chinese characters: “danger” and “opportunity”.

Now that you understand What are the effects of Coronavirus on people? and What are the impacts of the Coronavirus on the Spanish Economy?, let’s discuss our research findings: due to the higher uncertainty created by Coronavirus and the weak economy, a lot of changes will take place on the Spanish real estate market in the post-covid-19 era.

Here is a quick summary of our insights:

Less transactions for 1.5 years
Prices could decrease from between 5% to 15%
The Path to recovery will be economy dependent
Spaniards will be more “picky” when looking for housing
New criteria will become more important for house searching: space (inside and outside) and light, two scare attributes in city centres
Madrid, Barcelona, Bilbao and Santander should remain the strongest markets
The rest of Spain may suffer
Spanish coasts and touristic areas could suffer more short term due to more supply and less demand.
Some foreigners could decide to relocate in Spain

Real estate investors who have known us for a while will be happy if they have followed our advice and invested in cities with “real” economic activity rather than pure “touristic” cities. As we can see today, this was very important advice to follow. Of course if you were buying a holiday property, Spain remains a hot, sunny spot with many other advantages.

Views from one of the new build project of our local partner in the Balearic Islands available now – click to view more

In our new research, which will be available by latest, the 12th of May , we will go further with our review:

The impacts of Coronavirus on the Spanish real estate market

with a focus on the following themes :

Expectations for the Spanish housing market in a post-Covid-19 world
What are hot properties for Spaniards in a post-Covid-19 world?
What are the ideal Spanish properties for foreigners in a post-Covid-19 world? Market update on foreigners activity. How can you seize potential real estate opportunities in Spain? Is it easy for a foreigner to buy while being abroad? (This part will be released at the latest on the 19th of May)
Are distressed sales back in Spain due to Covid-19 as in 2008?
Financing conditions update in a post-Covid-19 world

So, don’t miss this opportunity to gain new insights on a very important topic!

Don’t neglect the basic recommendations to keep yourself and others safe:

maintaining a social distance of 2 m,

regular hand washing,

cover your mouth when you cough or sneeze,

avoid touching your face after touching hard surfaces where the virus can live.

Looking for a mortgage or a local expert in Alicante, Malaga, Valencia, Madrid, Barcelona,…? Ask us directly!

Stéphane

Senior analyst and strategist at HTBIS

The post What are the impacts of Coronavirus on the Spanish real estate? appeared first on How to buy in Spain.

Everything you ever wanted to know about the top 20 Spanish Cities real estate markets

STEPHANE — Mon, 16 Oct 2017 05:02:31 +0000

Automatic translation from Google translate:

FYI, all our charts are always up to date, but for the up to date comments, check our most recent quarterly update “Quarterly update on the Spanish real estate market“.

Everything you ever wanted to know about the top 20 Spanish Cities real estate markets

Here is a summary of all our resources that we have created in 2017 on the 20 biggest Spanish cities in order to help you be more efficient in your search for your ideal property in Spain. We ended this week our series of 21 papers on all the main Spanish cities with our paper on Castellón. Since March 2017, we wrote 21 specific papers we are very proud of this work!

Have a look at the real estate price evolution for all the 18 Spanish regions since 2005 (€/m²):

As you can see on this chart, Spanish real estate prices (thick orange line) got its lowest price point in early 2014 since the crisis of 2008. Since early 2014, real estate prices are rebounding and reached on average 1530€/m² as of June 2017. If you look at prices in general, yes we can talk again about growth but if you compare those to the levels of 2008 or to European real estate prices, you can still find bargains. Furthermore, you surely noticed that most of the prices are lower than the prices of early 2005, as it is the case for Spain when prices were at 1680€ per square meter.

The market in Spain is divided into two groups since 2014: the regions where prices are increasing again: mainly, Barcelona, Madrid and the Balearic Islands and all the other regions where the prices have stabilized or are increasing modestly.

The five regions with prices above the national average are the Basque Country (2397€/m² as of June 2017), the Community of Madrid (2264€/m² as of June 2017), the Balearic Islands (2208€/m² as of June 2017), Catalonia (1834€/m² as of June 2017) and Ceuta and Melilla (1668€/m² as of June 2017).

It is really easy to buy a property in Spain but, because you are not on the ground, because you don’t know the market and because you need to check your property in order to avoid any nasty surprise, we advise you not to do it alone. We are foreigners and Spanish residents who bought properties in Spain and we developed a network of reliable partners in order to assist foreigners in their purchases of a Spanish property.

Don’t forget, if you are buying in Spain as a foreigner, you could have two different motives:

Pleasure
Investment

or the two combined. Depending on what is (are) your own motivation (s) your criteria will be different.

90% of foreigners are looking for beaches, sea and sun…

Rember our infographic on why people are buying a property in Spain:

So it’s not a surprise to have as the top 4 buying destinations Cities in Spain for foreigners: Alicante, Malaga, Barcelona and Madrid (the exception, but yes it’s the capital and the 3rd biggest city in Europe).

The top Regions where foreigners are buying real estate are the Valencian Community, Andalucia, Catalonia and the Canary and the Balearic Islands. Madrid is the last Region. Have a look at our infographic with the data of 2016. Foreigners bought 77500 properties, i.e. 17% of all the transactions that took place in Spain during the last year.

After those quick reminders on the Spanish market, let’s finally get to the core of our paper: find all resources sorted per city with the evolution of the price per square meter of all the different cities for the last 20 years!

All you ever wanted to know about the 20 biggest Spanish cities from Alicante… to Zaragoza:

Alicante, Almeria, Barcelona, Bilbao, Cadiz, Castellon, Girona, Ibiza, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Madrid, Málaga, Palma de Mallorca, Murcia, Santa Cruz Tenerife, Sevilla, Sitges, Valencia, Valladolid, Zaragoza

Alicante

Our article on Alicante: Alicante: the Spanish pearl
Check the monthly weather statistics for Alicante
Check our Citytrip ePostcards on Alicante
We have the experts: Lawyers, Property hunters, Architects, Banks from our network of local partners to assist you in your language
Follow this link to ask for one of our local experts

Check the real estate price evolution for Alicante since 1995

Prices in Alicante remain on average 20% lower than the national average and close the lowest reached since the crisis of 2008.

Almeria

Check the real estate price evolution for Almeria since 1995

Prices in Almeria remain on average 25% lower than the national average and close the lowest reached since the crisis of 2008.

Barcelona

Our article on Barcelona: Barcelona real estate market is rising in 2017
Check the monthly weather statistics for Barcelona
Check our Citytrip ePostcards on Barcelona
We have the experts: Lawyers, Property hunters, Architects, Banks from our network of local partners to assist you in your language
Follow this link to ask for one of our local experts

Check the real estate price evolution for Barcelona since 1995

Prices in Barcelona are on average 40% higher than the national average and rebounded about 15% from the lowest levels reached since the crisis of 2008. If you take into account the number of transactions, Madrid and Barcelona are the two strongest markets.

Bilbao

1. Best Professionals 2. Follow up 3. Competitive pricing 4. Partners 5. Qualitative Check

Cadiz

Check the real estate price evolution for Cadiz since 1995

Prices in Cadiz remain on average 15% lower than the national average and close the lowest reached since the crisis of 2008.

Castellon

Check the real estate price evolution for Castellon since 1995

Prices in Castellon remain on average 30% lower than the national average and close the lowest reached since the crisis of 2008.

Girona

Check the real estate price evolution for Girona since 1995

Prices in Girona followed the national prices as if Girona was the national market really funny! Check these two charts!

Ibiza

Check the real estate price evolution for the Balearic Islands since 1995

Prices in the Balears recovered strongly from the lows since 2008 (+15%) and are on average 40% higher than the national average.

Las Palmas de Gran Canaria

Our article on Las Palmas de Gran Canaria: Gran Canaria, the tropical gem of Spain
Check the monthly weather statistics for Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
We have the experts: Lawyers, Property hunters, Architects, Banks from our network of local partners to assist you in your language
Follow this link to ask for one of our local experts

Check the real estate price evolution for the Gran Canaria since 1995

Prices in Gran Canaria remain on average 10% lower than the national average and rebounded by 10% of the lowest levels seen since 2008.

Madrid

Check the real estate price evolution for Madrid since 1995

Prices in Madrid are leading the charge and are 45% higher than the national average. They rebounded by about 13% from the lowest levels seen since 2008. If you take into account the number of transactions, Madrid and Barcelona are the two strongest markets.

Málaga

Check the real estate price evolution for Málaga since 1995

Prices in Málaga are about 8% higher than the national average and rebounded by a little bit more than 10% from the lows seen since 2008.

Palma de Mallorca

Our article on Palma de Mallorca: Mallorca, a paradise in the middle of the Mediterranean
Check the monthly weather statistics for Mallorca
We have the experts: Lawyers, Property hunters, Architects, Banks from our network of local partners to assist you in your language
Follow this link to ask for one of our local experts
Check the real estate price evolution for the Balearic Islands since 1995

Real Estate prices in Mallorca are 40% higher than the national average and rebounded by 15% since 2008.

Murcia

Check the real estate price evolution for Murcia since 1995

Property prices in Murcia are about 35% under the national average. They remain at the lowest levels seen since 2008.

Santa Cruz Tenerife

Check the real estate price evolution for Tenerife since 1995

Prices in Tenerife rebounded by more than 10% since the bottom of the period between now and 2018 but remain on average, 15% lower than the national average. The weather is more stable during the winter months but yes, your flight is a little bit longer.

Sevilla

Check the real estate price evolution for Sevilla since 1995

Real estate prices in Sevilla are 20% lower than the national average and close to the lowest prices seen since 2008.

Sitges

Check the real estate price evolution for Barcelona since 1995

This chart is reproducing the prices of Barcelona, a few kilometres north from Sitges. Prices in Sitges are strong as Sitges is seen as “the” seaside city in Catalonia.

Valencia

Have a look at our feedback from our real estate city trip to Valencia, April 2018.
Our article on Valencia: Valencia, the third biggest city in Spain, is a centre of interest for foreigners
Check the monthly weather statistics for Valencia
We have the experts: Lawyers, Property hunters, Architects, Banks from our network of local partners to assist you in your language
Follow this link to ask for one of our local experts

Check the real estate price evolution for Valencia since 1995

Real estate prices in Valencia are about 25% under the national averages. At the same time, it is the third city in Spain in terms of inhabitant! A bargain to check quickly?

Valladolid

Check the real estate price evolution for Valladolid since 1995

Prices in Valladolid are more than 20% under national averages and at bottom of prices reached during the last 10 years.

Zaragoza

Check the real estate price evolution for Zaragoza since 1995

Zaragoza real estate prices are about 20% lower than national averages.

Find all our detailed articles and maps on the Spanish Costas:

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Stéphane

Senior analyst and strategist at HTBIS

Check the full HTBIS team here

Source: Ministerio de Fomento

The post Everything you ever wanted to know about the top 20 Spanish Cities real estate markets appeared first on How to buy in Spain.

Bilbao, the new awakening of the city

STEPHANE — Mon, 22 May 2017 05:02:14 +0000

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Bilbao, the new awakening of the city

Bilbao, the largest city in the Basque Country, is one of the main financial centres in Spain thanks in part to having the headquarters of the bank BBVA, one of the most important in Spain and Europe.

The city, located at the mouth of the Nervión estuary, was, next to Barcelona, one of the most industrialised areas of the country. With the relocation of many industries, the city suffered a period of decline at the end of the last century, but thanks to different urban plans the city has flourished again and is now one of the most livable cities in Spain.

Why choose Bilbao?

Located in northern Spain, the city has a typical Atlantic climate: very humid most of the year, with cool winter and temperate summers, although when there are heat waves coming from North Africa temperatures can rise to 40 degrees.

Although the town itself does not have any beaches, they are only half an hour by car. The water of the Atlantic may be colder than the Mediterranean, but surfers and windsurfers can enjoy the strong swell and the wind that runs almost all year round.

Another aspect that can be enjoyed in Bilbao is nature. Bilbao is very green and is considered one of the best place to enjoy nature in the country.

How is the real estate market?

Although in Bilbao there is no strong demand for foreign investment, as is happening in many areas of the country there is an increase in the real estate investment of the Chinese community.

The city may not be as big and important as Madrid or Barcelona, but its real estate price is on par with these cities: the average price per square meter is € 2,200. Also, as is happening in the rest of the country, it is slowly recovering, although in the first quarter of 2017 the price per square meter fell by 6% compared to the last quarter of the previous year.

Check this chart of the real estate prices in the Basque Country vs the National average.

If we look at data in general of the Basque Country, we see that the purchase and sale of housing in the autonomous community increased by more than 10% during 2016.

Where to live in Bilbao?

Deusto is an area inhabited by students since it is near the University of Deusto. It is a modern area with a youthful atmosphere. The area is well connected with all services in the neighbourhood or near it.

San Ignacio, not far from downtown, has good communications with the rest of the city that make it a good place to live.

Idautxu is the most commercial district of the city. In addition, it is located next to the historical centre of the city.

Casco Viejo is the centre of the city. It has a great commercial life, with Somera street and enjoy the “poteo” neighbourhood: relax and move from bar to bar and enjoy a good wine, beer or other drinks in small quantities accompanied by pintxos, small plates of food). For lovers of culture, this area concentrates most of Bilbao’s museums, as well as the famous library of Bidebarrieta and the Arriaga Theater.

Santutxu and Begoña are quality residential areas to live. It is not far from downtown, and Adem as well have all the basic amenities including supermarkets, hospitals, etc.

How to get around Bilbao

The city has an extensive network of buses that takes you to all corners of the city as well as metro. Also, Bilbao is a city that can be enjoyed walking.

Although the high-speed train has not yet reached the Basque Country, there are rail connections to the country’s largest cities. Bilbao airport has flights to the largest cities in Spain and Europe. In addition, the network of roads and highways connects the city with other parts of the autonomous community and the country.

If you want to invest in the Spanish real estate market in Spain, don’t hesitate to read our special report with the 10+ reasons why you should have a look at the Spanish property market.

Do you want to check the yearly weather statistics in Zaragoza before buying? Check our infographics of the yearly weather statistics of any Spanish city and on Bilbao.

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Looking for an expert in Spain? Ask us directly!

Raimon

Senior Journalist and writer at HTBIS

Check the full HTBIS team here

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