Gesvalt has published our Housing Report for the first quarter of the year 2022. The study, carried out with its own data by the Research department, reflects an increase in house prices of 3.7% compared to the same period in 2020. This new increase represents a chain of four periods with rises of more than 3%, or in other words, a full year's rise. In this sense, this trend can be explained as a response to the decline in uncertainty and price contractions observed during the 2020 financial year. Furthermore, despite the current uncertainty, Gesvalt's experts anticipate a scenario of price stabilisation in 2022.
Following this new increase, the price of housing has risen to 1,439 €/m2, This means that a property with an average value and a surface area of 90 m² would be priced at €129,510, compared to €124,920 last year.
On the other hand, the Gesvalt Housing Report also points out that the upward trend in prices has been generalised, as it has occurred in all autonomous communities with the exception of Galicia and Asturias, which have experienced slight decreases. In this sense, the regions in which this value has increased the most have been the Canary Islands, with 5.4%, the Balearic Islands, with 5.0%, La Rioja, with 4.6% and the Valencian Community, with 3.2%. The Community of Madrid and Catalonia, on the other hand, experienced rises of 2.7% and 1.2% respectively.
Galicia, the opposite of the national trend
Galicia, contrary to the national trend, has chained its fourth consecutive quarter of slight declines in house prices. On this occasion, the fall was 0.51 p.p.p.3 trimester, and was accompanied by Asturias, where it also fell by 0.31 p.p.3 trimester.
On the other hand, the Balearic Islands has repeated as the region that has led the ranking of highest residential prices, with an average value of 2,440 €/m², surpassing Madrid, which stands at an average of 2,328 €/m². Behind, and as the last autonomous community to exceed €2,000/ sq m, Madrid was the second highest in the ranking.2, The Basque Country came in second, with a value of €2,259/m². At the bottom of the ranking is Extremadura, with a value of 842 €/m², followed by Castilla la Mancha with 863 €/m² and the Region of Murcia with 987 €/m², these being the only regions with unit values of less than €1,000 per square metre.
Inconsistent rental growth
Although rental prices continue their upward trend, their progression is more irregular than sales prices. In this sense, the greatest increases in the year-on-year rental price were seen in Cuenca (+12.3%), Gerona (+10.3%), Huelva (+9.1%), Malaga (+8.5%) and Pontevedra (+8.2%). Conversely, the largest contractions were observed in Lérida (-6.6%), Orense (-5.2%), and Salamanca (-3.1%).
Analysing the total price, Barcelona has once again surpassed the barrier of 16 €/m2/month, being the only province to do so and placing itself at the top of the national ranking. It was followed by Madrid (15.00 €/m²/month), Guipúzcoa (14.63 €/m²/month) and the Balearic Islands (13.71 €/m²/month). At the bottom of the table, among the provinces with the lowest rental tendency and, therefore, the lowest rents, were Jaén, Cuenca and Teruel, all with rental units below 5 €/m²/month.
The only municipalities with rents above 15 €/m²/month continue to be Barcelona, Madrid, San Sebastián and Castelldefels, which has been joined in the last three months by Castelldefels, which has reached 15.12 €/m²/month. In these cities, the average rental price of a 90 m² property is around €1,600. On the other hand, the municipalities with more than 50,000 inhabitants with the lowest rents are Elda, Linares, Puertollano, Lorca and Ponferrada, with unit prices below €5/ m²/month.
Housing supply tries to catch up with demand
The year 2021 has been characterised by the great effort and resilience of the development sector, which has been able to cope with the current increase in demand for housing. Throughout the year, the number of final building work certifications and building management approvals showed a sharp increase compared to last year, which is normal considering the exceptional nature of the months of March, April and May 2020. The number of building permits increased by 26.6%, while the number of final building certificates increased by 6.1%. The Autonomous Communities in which most certificates have been approved continue to be the Community of Madrid, the Community of Valencia and Andalusia; while, in terms of the volume of construction management approvals, Andalusia is in the lead, followed by the Community of Madrid and Catalonia.