Spanish sales remained strong during 2017

The Spanish property market continues to thrive, according to estate agency Lucas Fox, with sales of new homes in Madrid and Barcelona now at their highest level since the property crash.

The firm’s latest Market Report has revealed a record number of sales of new homes, with these accounting for half (50%) of the agency’s total sales in Madrid and Barcelona.

What’s more, across all of Lucas Fox’s offices in Spain the number of sales transactions rose by 39%. The average price of a home sold by the company during 2017 also increased, up to €830,000 from €730,000 in 2016, a rise of 14%.

Sales were up in the company’s Madrid office by 92%, up by 86% in Valencia and, despite the political turmoil surrounding Catalonia, up by 24% in Barcelona.

Some 66% of all Lucas Fox sales in 2017 were accounted for by international buyers, more or less the same as 2016. Broken down, UK buyers were responsible for 10% of sales and US buyers accounted for 8% of sales, while buyers from Scandinavia, the Middle East and Asia were also active in 2017.

Most buyers (34%) purchased property as a secondary residence, while 28% purchased a property for their primary home. Meanwhile, 28% of buyers bought as an investment in 2017, up from 22% the year before.

“Falling unemployment, low interest rates and a strong economy have all contributed to the growth in the Spanish property market,” Rod Jamieson, Lucas Fox head of operations, said. “Official figures now indicate that the market has recovered from the crash of 2008 with transactions reaching pre-crisis levels in some areas. Overall prices, however, remain below the levels of 2007, offering attractive opportunities for investors across the whole of Spain.”

Strong growth in areas such as Valencia and Girona Province (which includes the Costa Brava) is predicted by Lucas Fox in the coming months and years.

“We expect that 2018 will prove to be a pivotal year for new developments on the Costa Brava,” said Tom Maidment, a partner at Lucas Fox. “2017 saw a 25% year-on-year increase in new development sales in Girona Province and we would expect this figure to increase significantly in the next couple of years as developers and investors look to take advantage of market conditions and develop their assets in the region.”

He added: “Despite recent increases in the construction and sale of new-build properties, we are still a long way off the levels during the peak of the market in 2007. In common with other resort areas the recovery of the Costa Brava property market is still some way behind the city markets.”