One more year, one more rise. The price of housing increased by 4.2% in 2023 in Spain, according to INE statistics presented this Thursday. The rebound represents a chain of an entire decade of increases, since no falls have been seen at the end of the year since 2007, just before the bursting of the real estate bubble.
The increase in the reference is much greater in new housing (7.5%) than in used housing (3.6%), the latter with quarterly increases of 3% throughout the year. Despite the increase in interest rates and the cost of mortgages, the lack of supply maintains pressure on the market and drives up prices. “One of the main reasons behind this trend is the shortage of housing available for sale in urban areas,” says Patricia Rodríguez-Lázaro, head of investment at Clikalia. “Projections for 2024 point to a continuation of this upward trend,” she warns.
For now, not a single autonomous community is immune from price increases in the general index, which combines new and used housing. Andalusia leads the increases (5.3%), followed by Navarra (4.7%), Ceuta (4.6%) or the Canary Islands and Madrid (4.5%). In the case of Catalonia, the rebound is 3.5%.
“The demand to buy continues to be very intense, despite the ten increases in interest rates and the consequent tightening of mortgages. With a strong purchase intention on the ground in the face of the shortage of existing stock, which is becoming increasingly significant, an imbalance is produced that pushes the price upwards,” insists María Matos, Director of Studies at Fotocasa.
In new construction the variations are greater because limitations in construction are combined with the lack of land, qualified labor and the increase in the cost of materials. “It is causing the stock to be at minimum levels,” continues Matos. The price accelerates especially in the Balearic Islands, the only one that grows by double digits (11.4%), or Madrid, with 9.8%. Navarra (8.4%) or Aragón (8.3%) also exceed 8%. Catalonia sees the price of new housing increase by 7.9%.
In the used one the panorama changes somewhat. Andalusia registers the most pronounced increase in prices, with 5.3%, compared to 4.5% in the Canary Islands. In Catalonia it rose 3% and in Madrid 3.1%. Castilla-La Mancha (1.9%), is where they have recovered the least.