Servihabitat estimates a price increase of 0.5% this year, after last year’s 1.9% rise.
Residential housing is enduring the pandemic. Housing prices rose 1.9% last year and will rebound 0.5% this year, according to forecasts by Servihabitat, the real estate servicer of the Lonestar fund and Caixabank.
Last year closed with 422,000 sales, 26.8% less than the previous year, which is explained by the halt caused by the confinement during the state of alarm. In its annual report, Servihabitat highlights that the pace of operations has been “especially good” in the third and fourth quarters of 2020, with transaction values similar to those of 2017. The forecast is that this year transactions will increase by 12.8%, to 475,000 sales and purchases.
The servicer also explains that the pace of job creation and the conditions imposed by financial institutions will influence the evolution of sales and purchases, as will the demand for investment in real estate, which remains active due to the interest in real estate as a safe haven that generates a higher return than other financial products.
The pandemic has also impacted the number of housing starts last year, which totaled 87,215 units, down 19.9%. Estimates for this year are for around 86,500 housing starts, down 0.7%.
Residential sales declined 26.8% last year, to 422,000 transactions
As for housing completions, the decline is smaller, down 11.6% from 2019. With 69,100 homes finished, the pace is expected to return to pre-Covid levels in 2021, up 16.6%.
The vacation habitat market has been hit hard by reduced mobility and lower tourist activity. On the other hand, development activity in the Balearic Islands, Catalonia and Andalusia has been particularly reduced, bearing in mind that these are very dynamic areas.
The available stock of new construction rises slightly in 2020 with an increase of 2.2%, to 471,000 homes, due to the accumulated units, and is expected to increase by 4.2% in 2021 and reach 491,000 apartments in stock. La Rioja, Castilla-La Mancha, the Valencian Community, the Canary Islands, Castilla y León, the Region of Murcia, Asturias and Catalonia have a stock of new construction above the Spanish average, which is 99.5 homes per 10,000 inhabitants.
