houses

In March, 2,750 flats and houses were sold in Catalonia, 13.9% less than a year ago in the same month. 32.5% were newly built homes and 67.5% were second hand ones. The previous worst month of the economic crisis had been December 2011, when 2,778 housing units were sold. However, the results from March represent the lowest level of housing sales since January 2007. The reasons behind this drop are the economic recession and the crisis of the real estate sector. In the whole of Spain, housing sales dropped by 12.6% compared to a year ago, with 22,086 flats and houses sold. However, at a Spanish level, the worst month in the last few years is still April 2012, when 21,551 housing units were sold.

Catalan first instance courts ordered 25,422 evictions last year, representing 25.1% of the total number in Spain. Two weeks ago the European Court of Justice declared the Spanish Mortgage Law to be abusive towards citizens. Home evictions have increasingly become a social drama in Catalonia and in the whole of Spain, particularly over the last two years, as the crisis became harsher. In 2009, a platform to unite people affected by house evictions was created in Barcelona and it has managed to stop hundreds of cases throughout Catalonia and Spain.

The 2,885 housing units sold in Catalonia during December increased by 4% compared to the figures from a year ago. The main reason for this rise is that, in January, the Spanish Government’s tax benefits applied when purchasing a house – approved to reactivate this economic sector after the collapse of the real estate market – will no longer exist. 66% of the houses and apartments sold were second hand, while the other third were newly built. For the whole of Spain, housing sales increased by 2.3% in December. In 2012, house sales dropped by 11.3% over 2012.

House sales maintain a decline as results show that sales have fallen by 19% in first half of 2012. Despite the negative overall trend, Lleida and Tarragona saw a boost in sales last month, making up for the reduction in sales experienced in Barcelona and Girona, culminating in a 2.7% overall increase in sales this June for Catalonia. In Spain, the fall in the first half of the year was 21% and in June, in contrast to the increase Catalonia, there was a fall of 11.2% compared with June 2011.

A study by a Catalan savings bank CatalunyaCaixa recommends helping young people to rent empty apartments in order to reduce the stock. The stock is expected to rise to 131,100 houses in Catalonia, while in the whole Spain the figures will reduce to 693,000 by 2015. However the situation is not the same throughout Catalonia, and some places such as Barcelona have a smaller stock in relation.

Within the whole Spanish state, property transactions collapse by nearly 41%, while the average value of each house increases every month

Country house visitors with Spanish nationality decrease by 4% while the number of foreigners visiting these rural establishments increases by nearly 8%.

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.

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