Property sales and prices in Spain are forecast to rise in 2018 as long as there are no sudden economic surprises or changes to the mortgage market.
Anticipa, one of Spain’s biggest real estate providers, expects sales to rise 9.3% next year to 526,000 units, up from 481,000 this year and 21% more than in 2016.
It is also forecasting that prices will have risen by 6.9% by the end of 2017 and looking ahead to 2018 are set to rise by slightly less at 6.1%. Even with this rise they will still be 27% below the peak of the market in 2007.
Prices for resales and new builds are expected to continue to increase by 5.8% over the fourth quarter of this year, the firm says in its latest real estate market report, but this was compiled before Catalonia declared independence and the national Government took over the running of the region.
Forecasts could be affected by what happens in Catalonia regarding the region’s bid for independent from Spain. The region is regarded as the wealthiest in Spain and its capital Barcelona has seen some of the highest property price rises this year.
With the Madrid Government having now taken over control of the regional government ahead of elections in December there is now a state of wait and see. Spain’s third largest bank Caixa Bank has already moved its registered office out of Catalonia and is likely to wait until after the regional election to announce what the future holds.
