Official statistics continue to show some signs of recovery in the Spanish property market. The latest data from the Housing Department in the Ministry of Development shows improvements in the market for building land in 2014.
During Q4, land prices went up by 5.2 per cent, sales by 2.7 per cent and area sold by 4.5 per cent. During the year, 15,889 urban land transactions were carried out, 9 per cent more.
According to the same source, the amount of land sold in the last quarter reached 8 million square metres, representing a rise of 4.5 per cent compared to the last quarter of 2013. As regards urban land, prices went up by 5.2 per cent to €155.60.
During the year, 15,899 urban land transactions were carried out, 9 per cent higher than the one recorded in 2013, while the area sold reached 23.7 million square metres. That is 12.2 per cent more than the previous year.
Big Cities Lead Growth
The press release from the Ministry headed by Ana Pastor reports that the average price per square metre in places with over 50,000 inhabitants rose by 1 per cent to reach €287.50, and practically double that in Madrid and Barcelona.
In the capital Madrid, for instance, the average price reached €546.50, while in Barcelona it got to €527.80. The Balearics were also above the average with a square metre price of around €337. At the other extreme were Cáceres province and the region of Murcia whose average cost was below €104.
Cities with over 50,000 inhabitants also recorded growth in the number of plots sold. Specifically, according to the Ministry of Development, 889 plots were sold in Q4 2014, 12 per cent more than the previous year. Transactions also went up in places with between 10,000 and 50,000 inhabitants: 1,650 were recorded, 33.5 per cent more than at the end of 2013.
