Spanish Property Evaluation Positive for 2018

The outlook for the Spanish property market in 2018 is positive according to the Spanish Property Evaluation Society.

The property evaluation society have predicted that new home prices will rise by 5.5 per cent this year, supported by strengthening demand.

The society also expect a 14.1 per cent increase in property sales, saying in their report: ‘The market will continue the recovery started two years ago, although it still has a relatively long stretch ahead to reach the desired cruising speed.’

The last quarter of 2017 ended strongly for the Spanish property market, with the National Statistics Institute’s Housing prices index showed a year-on-year rise of 6.7 per cent, the biggest increase since the index started in 2007.

The property Evaluation Society also expects positive growth in mortgage lending, predicting a rise of 9.4 per cent this year, while growing less than the number of transactions.

Juan Fernández-Aceytuno, CEO of the Society, said: ‘The relationship between mortgages and transactions – there will be around half a million operations at year-end – remains healthy. We are not talking about a market which is being heated up by the financial sector.’

According to figures from the Public Works Ministry in the first 10 months of 2017, permits to begin work on new homes totalled 68,000 and certificates of termination grew 38.2 per cent year-on-year, confirming increasing activity in the market.

It is also felt that the Spanish economic recovery is more widespread and less reliant on just property.

Juan Fernández-Aceytuno said: ‘If the global economy continues to grow as it has up to now, the positive trend in the Spanish property market will continue. Growth is not just based on the property and financial markets as happened in 2016. Exports of capital goods and services is contributing positively to the economy.’

Experts at BBVA Research agreed, expecting that in 2017 the property market will have accounted for 11.2 per cent of GDP growth. And in 2018, it will once again be one of the components which shows the most growth.

Overseas property investors will no doubt be jumping on board the Spanish property recovery train in 2018.