Cash buyers dominate the domestic resale market

The domestic resale housing market is dominated by cash buyers, according to a new report by Tecnocasa – a mass-market chain of estate agents covering most of Spain. This has big implications for property prices.

55pc of resale transactions handled by Tecnocasa in Q1 were cash only, reveals its latest report on the market. Cash-buyer dominance is a clear sign that prices have fallen low enough for the mass-market to function without mortgage financing.

Cash-buyers also reflect the fact that mortgage financing is still scarce. Without credit turbo-charging, vendors can only ask what buyers can afford to pay out of savings.

Other market figures from the Q1 Tecnocasa report:

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Resale house prices fell 19.4pc in 2012, with a peak to present fall of 54pc

House prices fell 2.8pc compared to the previous quarter

More than half the homes sold in Q1 cost less than €100,000, with the exception of Barcelona, where it was €150,000

58pc of clients were first time buyers, and 57pc were between 22 and 44 years old

The average mortgage value was €99,346, down 14.6pc in a year, and 47pc since the peak

Spanish property investors return

20pc of purchases in Barcelona and Madrid were made by investors looking for yields of 5pc or more, according to an analysis of Tecnocasa data by the university Pompeu Fabra. The investor proportion falls to 16pc at a national level.

Lower house prices, scarce mortgage financing, and poor returns on bank deposits are making residential housing an increasingly attractive investment for Spaniards with cash, explains Professor José García Montalvo, who oversaw the research. “Middle class rental housing now delivers a yield of 5pc to 6pc,” he told the Spanish press.