Spanish real estate investment breaks records
Calpe, Costa Blanca Photo: Lugaresparavisitar
2015 was a record-breaking year for the Spanish property market. Investment in the country's property jumped 67 per cent year-on-year, as the weak euro combined with improving market conditions to woo overseas buyers.
Transactions totalled €11,700 million, according to BNP Paribas Real Estate, not only significantly higher than 2014, but also 25 per cent more than the figures recorded in the years before the housing crisis.
Retail and office property drove investment, making up around 70 per cent of the total transactions, with residential property portfolios accounting for 5 per cent of total investment.
The residential real estate market, though, has enjoyed a strong year, with the National Statistics Institute reporting that home sales rose 13.7 per cent in November 2015 compared to the same month a year earlier - the 15th month of year-on-year rises in a row.
French, American and British buyers were the most active foreign investors throughout the year, according to El Economista. Indeed, both American and British investors saw their spending power rocket, thanks to the strengthening pound and US dollar against the weaker euro.
Month-on-month, the National Statistics Institute says that sales rose 5.3 per cent, the biggest rise recorded in a November since 2011.
Valencia and the Balearic Islands led sales growth per 100,000 inhabitants, as buyers gravitated towards popular tourist hotspots.
With sales climbing, prices are also being pushed upwards, albeit slowly. According to Tinsa's latest IMIE Local Markets Index, house prices rose 1 per cent 2015, a small increase, but the first rise since the beginning of the crisis. Catalonia and Madrid led price growth with 5.3 per cent and 3.3 per cent respectively, but the Balearic Islands were close behind with an increase of 2.7 per cent.
It now takes 10.2 months to sell a typical home, down from 10.6 months.
Taylor Wimpey confirms the positive outlook for the market. Despite new housing typically performing weaker than existing homes, as the country gradually works its way through a large backlog of unsold property, the house builder saw its total order book jump 15.9 per cent in 2015 compared to 2014.
There was also a 26 per cent increase in average selling prices compared to a year ago. The average selling price of a Taylor Wimpey España property in 2014 was €250,000. By the end of 2015, this had risen to €315,000.
"We are extremely proud of the fantastic results Taylor Wimpey España has seen in 2015, figures which have confirmed our position as the leading homebuilder in the Spanish property market. The fact that increasing numbers of buyers are purchasing properties at higher prices, indicates the fantastic news that the Spanish market is on an upward trajectory," comments Javier Ballester, Managing Director for Taylor Wimpey España.
"As more and more people look to buy a home in this wonderful country, we will continue to deliver properties of the highest quality and with accompanying services that provide the very best for our loyal and increasing client base. We look forward to an even more successful 2016, for both Taylor Wimpey España and the Spanish market."