Housing demand will increase by 5% in 2021, according to CBRE.

Estimates for the residential market in Spain suggest that the demand for housing will increase by 5% in 2021, which would mean the sale of around half a million homes. This is reflected in the report by the leading international real estate consultancy, CBRE “Residential Market in Spain 2021″, which has made an analysis of the sector in the last year.
The year 2020 is coming to an end, marked by the pandemic, to face 2021 with a favorable and optimistic outlook for the Spanish residential market. The sector maintains a high level of investor interest, increasingly concentrated and capitalized, with a growing demand for housing, both for purchase and rental. In addition, the residential sector is one of the most resilient in terms of financing, both traditional and alternative”.
Looking at demand (both new and second-hand), the number of homes recorded in 2020 (487,000 homes) fell by 14.5% compared to 2019: second-hand transactions fell by 17%, while new construction increased by 7.3%. Twenty-four percent of sales were concentrated in Madrid (67,000 homes sold) and Barcelona (48,800 homes sold). Meanwhile, foreign demand accounted for 11.3% (47,000 units) of the total number of homes sold, after falling by 25% compared to 2019.
On the supply side, the number of housing completions grew by 10% in 2020, with more than 86,000 units completed, above the average of the last seven years (61,000 units). The number of new construction, extension, and refurbishment approvals last year exceeded 113,000 units, down 17% compared to 2019.
With regard to prices, at the national level, the price of housing registered a growth rate of 1.5% in the last quarter of 2020. This increase is much more moderate than in previous years due to the impact of the pandemic on the sector, resulting in fewer housing transactions. It is worth noting the pronounced difference in the indicator for new construction, which recorded an increase of 8.2%, while second-hand housing grew by 0.4%.
CBRE’s estimates for 2021 point to a decline of between -1% and -2% in the aggregate price of housing. According to sources at the real estate consultancy firm, it is foreseeable that the second-hand market will undergo limited adjustments and, on the contrary, new housing will remain stable and even grow in some locations.

Source : CBRE “Residential Market in Spain 2021”.