As has been discussed in many articles in the last two years, Spain suffers from a shortage of residential apartments in the areas of demand. One of the solutions that the government is trying to mobilize is help for vulnerable populations by increasing the scope of public apartments (in Israel - Amidar, Amigor, Halamish, etc.). What is happening to apartment prices in Barcelona and Madrid?
According to the data published by the Spanish government, in the first quarter of 2023 there was a 10.9% increase in the proportion of houses participating in rehabilitation programs. "These data show that the issue is gaining momentum," said the Minister of Urban Affairs, David Lucas, who spoke at a conference held on behalf of the newspaper El Economista. Today, 9.3 million houses in Spain need rehabilitation, mainly in terms of accessibility and energy efficiency. And these are some of the goals of the Spanish government. But of course, one of the burning goals right now in Spain, is the need to provide housing at an affordable price. That is why the government is investing 1,000 million euros here, plus another 4,000 million euros in providing loans for housing needs.
As part of the efforts to provide housing, the government agreed that it will purchase 50 residential facilities that were previously used for soldiers, and these will be converted into residential buildings for the public. Such projects exist in Madrid, Palma de Mallorca, Campamento and other places.
According to data published on the Spanish real estate site Idealista, while apartment prices in Barcelona continue to falter and this according to The explosion in rental prices in Barcelona. The apartments in Madrid are enjoying a moderate price increase that began with the end of the Corona trend, view the graphs:
Graph of second-hand apartment prices in Barcelona
The prices of second-hand apartments in Barcelona, Source: Idealista.com
Graph of second-hand apartment prices in Madrid
Second hand apartment prices in Madrid, Source: Idealista.com
Growth in the construction sector
As part of what the minister said at the conference, he also presented the growth figures in the construction industry. According to the data, the gross added value of the construction sector increased by almost 6% last year. Which brought the industry back to the levels it was in before the Corona period. In terms of the employment rate in the construction industry, in 2019 the sector employed 1,280,000 workers, while currently about 1,380,000 workers are employed in the industry, a figure that exceeds the employment figures in the period before the corona epidemic. There was also an annual increase of about 10.75% in the number of construction starts, and the number of purchase transactions increased from 566,000 to 652,000 purchases.
The minister also spoke and emphasized the need for cooperation between the public sector and the private sector in order to continue the development of the real estate industry and ensure affordable housing that meets the needs of the public.