Positive Costa Brava residential market expectation for this summer
Positive Costa Brava residential market expectations for this summer
The Spanish residential market is on the rise, with particular investment going into the cities of Madrid and Barcelona. Along with conventional consumer loans, the mortgage market has seen one of the largest recorded increases as more and more buyers become confident enough to return to the considerable financial investment of property buying.
In the past three years, the housing market has seen a rise in activity year on year, with an increase of 2% in 2014 and a 1.5% increase in 2015. In 2016, almost 458,000 homes had been sold.
According to the Association of Registrars, an increase in housing transactions in 2017 is expected in the region of 15.2%, with an anticipated 465,000 transactions or more. The demand continues to rise due to an increase in household incomes, a perception of affordability, and overall stability of the market.
Because younger people and those with less economic resource can not afford their own property, and due to the fact there have been socio-demographic changes and a change in perceptions in general, it is expected that the rental market will continue to grow. Currently, 21.6% of the Spanish population is living in rented accommodation, of which 17.3% make payments to a landlord. Of these rented dwellings, 30% are occupied by a single person, with the average gross profitability of a rented dwelling in Spain standing at around 5.4%.
Buyer proile
Based on data provided by the Ministry of Development, during 2016, the number of foreign property buyers in Spain increased by 13%, compared to 13% in 2015. 94.8% of purchases were foreign residents, while the remaining 5.2% were made by non-residents. The total percentage of transactions related to house purchases in Spain made by foreigners was 17.1%, with most international buyers coming from within neighbouring and nearby countries in Europe.
British citizens are the ones who continue to lead the pack when it comes to foreign investment in property purchases in Spain, followed by the French in second place, with the Germans not far behind in third. The type of property most demanded by this type of client is a coastal set villas with sea views, private pools and prime locations.
A good example of the kind of place clients are interested in is S’Agaró Vell, located between the towns of Platja d’Aro and Sant Feliu de Guíxols, on the promontory of Sant Pol. The area has narrow coves and spectacular sea views, with breath-taking scenery and fantastic hiking trails and outdoor pursuit opportunities.
Photographs of this increasingly popular area can be seen on our website, along with more information about properties in S’Agaró.
In short, we expect to see even more activity in the residential market for the summer of 2017 and throughout the remainder of the year.
