10 January, 2018

By VIVA Team

How's this for an outlook? the horizon for Spain's property market this year is pleasingly calm and clear.

How’s this for an outlook? The horizon for Spain’s property market this year is pleasingly calm and clear.

Spanish real estate valuation firm Tinsa has published its forecast for the nation’s property market for 2018, and the outlook appears very positive.

Having assessed 2017’s data on prices and confirmed a 4.2% nationwide increase in home values last year, Tinsa expects a similar increase this year. While this may seem a modest step, such steady growth is actually exactly what the Spanish property market needs right now: no booms, no busts, just stable movement in the right direction…

This sober reality is evidently having the desired effect, with Spanish property now seen as a sure thing among global investors, foreign property buyers and – vitally – young Spaniards more willing and able than ever before to get their foot on to the property ladder.

One of the upshots of growing domestic confidence is that the recovery and growth of the Spanish property market is more balanced. It means that home values in less ‘fashionable’ regions are also rising, and sales figures too. Without becoming top-heavy or over-inflated – as was the case in 2007 prior to the crash – Spain’s property market is on a surer footing, which is good news even for non-Spanish buyers simply seeking a summer bolthole on the Costa del Sol.

The Tinsa forecast predicts that there will only be a handful of provincial capitals in Spain this year where property values continue to decrease. In 2017, that number was 19 (out of 50), whereas it could dip into the single figures in 2018.

In terms of actual sales volume, Tinsa expects an increase of somewhere between 10 and 15% on 2017’s transaction figures. This would mean that 2018 could see more than 550,000 properties sold in Spain over the course of the year.

Sure, this is still way below the unsustainable 900,000 sold in 2006, but it is worth repeating – an overheated market does few people any favours. Indeed, in 2014 there were only 300,000 home sales, so this year’s estimation looks pretty healthy when compared to four years ago.

In the new build sector, Tinsa concludes that around 100,000 new construction licences could be granted this year, which would represent a 20% increase on 2017.