As part of the Barcelona Meeting Point Property Show, the property portal fotocasa has compiled a report analysing the current market situation in Catalonia for both sales and rentals.
Though published in October, this report was prepared prior to the constitutional crisis in Catalonia, which looks like it is having a negative impact on the housing market in the region.
The latest Property Index, published monthly for the last 12 years, reveals that property prices in Catalunya, both for purchase and rental, have risen sharply over the last year. Property prices in September in the region went up by 10.6%, the second highest year-on-year rise for the month of September behind just the Balearic Islands (16.9%).
The latest figure is not, however, the highest year-on-year seen in Catalunya recently. Last July, prices went up by 12% in the year and in June, by 11.3%. In year-on-year terms, prices have been rising continually since October 2016.
Rental market boiling
As far as rental prices go in Catalunya, the report highlights the year-on-year rise of 17.2% in September, the highest ever for this month. It isn’t, however, the highest in the region during the last few months.
In August, the year-on-year increase was 18.2%, in May 17.6% and in July, 17.3%. Year-on-year rental prices have been rising for 39 consecutive months in Catalunya since July 2014.
“The Catalan property market, and particularly the Barcelona market, are showing clear signs of recovery after years of price drops. To date, we’re looking at two-digit increases in sales prices that exceed 20% in some areas of the city, which have never been seen before. We hope that political instability doesn’t get in the way of this recovery,” said Beatriz Toribio, head of research at fotocasa.
