housing

Barcelona has the highest rent prices in Spain, with an average of 17.36 euros per square metre in the Catalan capital’s old town. In fact, 6 of the 10 most expensive cities for renting are in Catalonia, including Gavà, Sant Cugat, Sitges, Castelldefels and l’Hospitalet del Llobregat. The Catalan Government wants to put an end to “exaggerated” increases in rent prices and is drafting a new law that will set a recommend rental price for an initial 115 towns. Landlords who respect the recommended price could enjoy property tax cuts or receive grants to renovate flats. Similarly, towns will be able to penalise those that decide to rent their properties above the set price. The councils of Barcelona, Tarragona, Lleida and Girona welcomed the initiative and are prepared to study the introduction of tax reductions for landlords that rent below the recommended price.

The annual report from real estate agency ‘Fotocasa’ revealed that in 2016 Barcelona topped the ranking of rent prices in the whole of Spain. The high levels of tourism and the rotation of those professionals who work for multinational companies and set up temporarily in the Catalan capital contributed to this rise. On average, renting in Barcelona costs 15.16 euros per square metre, which is 13.7% more than last year. Moreover, it is the first time in the historic series that the rent prices exceed those registered before the economic crisis in 2007. Renting in Catalonia was 14.6% more expensive in 2016 than in the previous year, a figure which is higher than the Spanish average. 

The 20^th edition of Barcelona Meeting Point (BMP), the international and professional real estate trade fair in Spain, opened this Wednesday. The inauguration was marked by contention. The Catalan representatives decided not to attend it. The Catalan Minister for Public Administration, Meritxell Borràs, and the Catalan Minister for Planning and Sustainability, Josep Rull, informed the President of the BMP of their decision through a letter. The reason for their absence is that by Tuesday, less than 24 hours before the start of the fair, the organisers had still not informed the Catalan representatives about the time of the event, as they were waiting to know the agenda of the Spanish representative. The Catalan Ministers assessed this lack of information as “disregard and informality towards members of the Government of Catalonia and all the attendees”.

Catalonia wants to be the first region to implement the New Urban Agenda, a document to be adopted this week at Habitat III, the United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development in Quito, Ecuador. The aim of this meeting of local and regional leaders is to secure renewed political commitment for sustainable urban development, assess accomplishments to date and provide guidance to states, city and regional authorities, civil society, foundations, NGOs, academic researchers and U.?N. agencies in this field. The Catalan Minister for Planning and Sustainability, Josep Rull, has offered to the United Nations that Catalonia be the first territory to implement the conclusions of the New Urban Agenda and stressed that the Catalan model "is inclusive, cohesive and committed to sustainable development".

The Catalan bill oriented toward avoiding evictions and facilitating mediation when the families involved are at social risk has been modified in order to dodge the Spanish Constitutional Court (TC) suspension. The Catalan Government passed a new draft this Tuesday which aims to put to use the stockpile of empty apartments and guarantee the relocation of those families who can’t pay the rent. “The present text is legally impeccable” stated Catalan Minister for Public Administration and Housing, Meritxell Borràs. However, she admitted that the “Spanish Government is likely to put a spoke in our wheels”. The Government aims for the Parliament to pass the draft immediately, so that it can come into force this October. 

The annual rate of mortgage borrowing increased substantially in the last 12 months, thanks to increasing confidence in the economy. The average amount borrowed for a mortgage in Catalonia in June was €134,509, according to figures published by the National Institute of Statistics of Spain. This figure is higher than the average Spanish mortgage, which stands at €112,516. In total, the amount borrowed in Catalonia for mortgages in June was €559.7 million, a 72.7% increase in comparison to June 2015 and a 10.8% increase in comparison to May 2016. Up to 4,161 mortgages were sold in Catalonia in the first month of summer.

Less than 24 hours after meeting with her Catalan counterpart, current Spanish Vice President Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría announced that some articles of the Catalan law against energy poverty will be taken before the Constitutional Court (TC). Thus, Catalan Vice President Oriol Junqueras’ demands for the Spanish executive to “reconsider” this procedure haven’t been listened to. However, Santamaría nuanced that those precepts which are in relation to guaranteeing the energy supply to those who may be at social risk are not affected by the suspension. On the other hand, some measures oriented toward avoiding evictions have been suspended. Catalan President, Carles Puigdemont, responded by saying that this measure leaves “in the open” the most vulnerable families.  

In its first annual collection, a tax raised on banks and other financial institutions maintaining empty flats has generated €11.3 million. When it was first approved, the tax was only expected to raise €8 million. The revenue from the tax is a “very positive” first assessment according to Catalan Minister for Public Administration and Housing, Meritxell Borras. The revenue gained from taxing 198 institutions with flats that remained empty for two years or more will be used to purchase 260 properties for public housing in Catalonia. However, Borras is concerned that the tax will be “endangered” by potential interference by the government in state functions. 

Prices have started to recover. They increased by 0.3% this past November in Catalonia and broke the negative trend of the last three months. Thus, the annual inflation rate is now 0%, according to the Spanish Institute of Statistics (INE). This increase has been caused mainly by the stabilisation of fuel prices, which dropped in 2014, the increase in the cost of electricity in comparison to the same period last year and the rise in the price of clothing and housing in November. Barcelona is the only region where the inflation rate is slightly positive; it was 0.1% at the end of November, whereas the previous month it was -0.1%. In the whole of Spain, prices rose by 0.4% last month in comparison to October but the annual rate is still negative, at -0.3%. 

This is the highest growth registered in Catalonia since 2007, when prices increased by 6.5% and comes after five consecutive months of rising house prices, according to figures released on Tuesday by the Spanish Statistics Institute (INE). Prices rose more in Catalonia than in Spain as a whole, where the increase was around 4%. The number of buying and selling transactions reached 2010 levels, with the previously owned market registering the highest growth. 

Real estate continues its positive trend and is gradually leaving behind the crisis the sector went through between 2008 and 2014. Housing sales have grown in Catalonia for the 9^th consecutive month in annual terms. This week, the Spanish Statistics Institute (INE) released the sales figures for the month of June 2015 and they show an 8.15% growth in Catalonia compared to June last year. It is the best figure for the month of June since 2010. Previously-owned properties are leading the market by a clear margin, with only 15% of sales being new builds. In Spain as a whole, housing sales have already seen 10 consecutive months of growth. In June, they increased by 17% on last year’s figures, with 78.3% of the properties sold having been previously owned.

An increasing number of people are fed up with living in concrete jungles. Many think of the countryside as a solution to problems such as stress, a low-paying job and pollution. Due to the start of the economic crisis, this phenomenon boomed, with people beginning to look for an 'alternative way of life' or, at least, new opportunities. Catalonia and the whole of Spain are no exception to this. Here, moving (back) to the countryside nowadays looks like an attractive option to many, especially to young unemployed graduates. However, sustainable agriculture initiatives and the like are the 'junior division' compared to more complex social, cultural and ecological experiments: the eco-villages. Coming in different shapes and sizes, their members share resources and spaces, grow their own food and cover in a sustainable way the energy demand of the buildings they live in. With different missions and features, many eco-villages can be traced back to one or two decades ago and could teach a lot to newcomers.

The price of houses and apartments in Catalonia has now accumulated 4 consecutive quarters of annual increases, increasing by 1.8% between January and March 2015 compared to the same period in 2014, according to figures released on Tuesday by the Spanish Statistics Institute (INE). After 6 years of falling prices, housing prices have been on the rise since the first quarter of 2014, showing the sector's recovery from the financial crisis. However, despite the annual increases and overall positive figures, housing prices fell in quarterly terms, decreasing by 0.9% compared to the last quarter of 2014. As well as this, the number of housing units sold during last April in Catalonia grew by 13%. In Spain as a whole, housing prices increased by 1.5% in the first quarter of 2015 compared to the same period in 2014, with the number of housing sales in April growing by 9.4%.

The number of mortgages on homes in Catalonia increased by 35.1% in March compared to figures from March 2014, data from the Spanish Statistics Institute (INE) show, with a total 3,229 mortgages approved. This yearly increase strengthens an uninterrupted trend of 11 consecutive months of annual growth, following 44 months of uninterrupted decline. In Spain as a whole, a 19.71% annual increase in March on figures from March 2014 was registered and 19,806 mortgages on houses and flats were granted. These figures represent the 10^th consecutive month of annual growth at Spanish level. In all the Catalan Provinces, an annual increase was also recorded: Lleida came top with a 76% increase, followed by Barcelona (35%), Tarragona (28%) and Girona (22%).

The Fundació Arrels (Arrels Foundation) – a Barcelona-based NGO dedicated to homeless people founded in 1987 – registered 892 persons sleeping on the streets of the Catalan capital on Wednesday night. More than 700 volunteers – in groups of three or four – combed the city divided up into 160 areas from midnight until 2 am. The initiative aimed at counting people sleeping on the streets: inside ATM lobbies, under bridges, on benches of public parks, in front of private entrances or nearby train stations. Barcelona's local Ombudsman service – an institution for the defence of rights and public liberties – also took part, through the presence of some of its staff among the volunteers. According to Maria Assumpció Vilà, Head of Barcelona's Ombudsman office, the reality certified by the Arrels Foundation is "absolutely unacceptable".  "An emergency plan must be launched urgently", she stressed, as the Catalan capital cannot accept having 900 people without a place to sleep.