Spanish Real Estate Market: August 2021 News

The last month of summer is cоming to an end, but the high season in Spain is not ending – neither is our traditional digest. If you are interested in the Spanish property market, then welcome to our traditional news!

In the first half of 2021, 267,715 villas and apartments were sold in Spain, according to the National Institute of Statistics (INE) and the Land Registry of Spain. This is the best statistics since 2008, when 313,248 transactions were recorded from January to June. It is even 0.6% more than in the "pre-covid" year of 2019, when there were 266,018 purchases in the first half of the year.

Real estate experts attribute this to the large number of pending purchases that did not take place last year due to the pоpulation's fears of the virus, the closure of some borders and other factors.

The best half of the last 13 years comes with another interesting number: 55,777 purchases of new properties. That's a 13.5% increase over pre-covid 2019 and the best figure since 2014 (67,429).

New properties in Spain

Madrid and Barcelona have been ranked as the safest cities in the world by The Economist. The capital of Catalonia was ranked 11th and Madrid – 21st. The list is based on indicators such as personal safety, health, infrastructure and the environment.

The first three places were taken by Copenhagen (Denmark), Toronto (Canada) and Singapore (Singapore).

According to a study by Idealista portal, a property in an apartment complex with a shared pool is on average 36.7% more expensive than one without a pool. The biggest price gaps are in Andalusia (64.4%), Valencia (54.4%) and the Canary Islands (52%).

At the same time, only about 20% of homes for sale boast a private or shared pool. The most offers with a swimming pool can be found in Alicante.

Barcelona, meanwhile, has its own criterion that can dramatically increase the price of housing. It is the view from the window. According to experts from the agency Barnes Barcelona, if your can see Sagrada Familia, Casa Batlló, Tibidabo or the Mediterranean Sea from your apartment, the price of housing increases by at least 30%.

As Elisabeth Hernandez of Barnes Barcelona points out that today most home buyers in the city are looking for flats of 150m² near schools and parks.

According to the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 324 "Golden Visas" have already been issued to foreigners this year, while the same amount was issued for the entire year of 2020. According to experts, "Golden Visas" continues the trend of real estate: last year a large number of transactions and investments were blocked because of the pandemic, and now we see how the market "catches up" its losses.

As a reminder, to qualify for the Golden Visa, you need to invest in Spanish real estate or the state's economy from €500,000.

Golden Visa: Investor Program Explained

An 18th century masia for sale for €3.95 million in the municipality of Osona (65 km from Barcelona). The complex includes a guesthouse, gallery, sanatorium and church in addition to the owners' mansion.

The total area of the property is over 3000m², and the plot is more than twenty hectares. There are meeting rooms, dining rooms, kitchen, bedrooms and several open spaces inside. The Masia stands out for its architectural details of the exterior and interior, stained glass windows and spiral staircases. The property is surrounded by peaceful nature, next to the UNESCO-listed Montseny Park.