The price of new and used housing in Spain in the first quarter stood at 1,713 euros per square meter, which represents a growth of 6.3% compared to the same period in 2022, and 0.9% compared to the previous quarter, according to the Tinsa statistics published this Friday.
The quarterly data confirms “the stabilization trend in prices observed in the first months of the year” and represents a “clear moderation compared to the quarterly increases of 2.2% and 2.1% that were registered in the fourth and third quarter of 2022″, respectively”, according to Tinsa.
Cantabria (+12.1%), Aragón (+10%), La Rioja (+8%) and Extremadura (+7.5%) are the communities that registered the highest year-on-year increases, while the price increases in Madrid and Catalonia reached 5.1% and 4.4%, respectively.
The most intense growth at the provincial level is around 10% in Zaragoza, Valencia and Cantabria and the most moderate between 2% and 3% in Soria, Alicante and Lugo. Most of the provinces moved in annual growth rates between 4% and 7%, and between -0.1% and 1% in quarterly rate.
On the other hand, a total of ten provinces registered a slight drop compared to the previous quarter. Among them, the province of Barcelona (-0.2% quarterly), where prices are 4.3% higher than those of 2022. In the province of Madrid, the average value evolved in line with the national average (+0 .9% quarterly), standing at 5.1% above the first quarter of 2022.
In addition, the capitals where house prices rose the most in the last year were Valencia (+10.4%), Málaga (+10.2%) and Cádiz (+9.1%), all of them above the year-on-year rise band between 3% and 7% in which most of the capitals moved in the first quarter. The city of Madrid became more expensive by 3.8% in the last year and Ciudad Condal, by 2.7%, so both marked a moderation with respect to the figures for the previous quarter.
The study also reveals that the average price in Spain increased by 34.2% from the minimum registered during the financial crisis, in the third quarter of 2015, and is 20.8% below the maximum reached during the real estate boom. , in the fourth quarter of 2007.
“The volume of home sales continues to normalize, which is returning towards its historical average, below the strong acceleration in activity that was experienced between the second half of 2021 and the first half of 2022, but still at robust levels”, explained the director of the Tinsa Studies Service, Cristina Arias.
Likewise, Arias explained that for the coming months “prices are expected to slow down with a tendency towards stabilization due to reduced financing and moderated demand.”
Among the indicators that allow confidence in the residential market in Spain to be maintained, the director of the Research Service pointed out that household and corporate debt is at balanced levels with respect to GDP, that general employment rates are maintained and that the Doubtful loans for home purchases are at low levels and are still declining in the last quarter of 2022.
“The problems in some banks in the United States and, to a lesser extent, in Europe open up the possibility of greater credit restriction by financial institutions. This situation could lead to a reduction in the growth forecasts for the economy existing to date, which would negatively affect the demand for housing replacement, although it could be positive for investment in real estate,” Arias warned.
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