Madrid (EFE).- Zamora is the only provincial capital in Spain in which the price of housing fell in 2022 (-7.2%), a figure that contrasts with other cities, capitals, provinces and autonomous communities , since the cost of real estate increased in all of them and an average of 8.1% throughout the territory.
According to the local markets report for the fourth quarter of 2022 from the Tinsa appraiser, the cities in which the value of housing increased the most last year were Madrid (10.3%), Teruel (9.8%), San Sebastián (9%) and Valencia (8.5%) and, in the least, Jaén (1%), Palencia (1.2%) and Ciudad Real (1.3%).
The director of the Tinsa Studies Service, Cristina Arias, explained in statements to EFE that the fall in the value of housing in Zamora is due to the phenomenon of depopulation in the last decade, although, as in most cities, in 2022 there, too, the demand for real estate increased.
“In 2022, what is observed is that, despite the increase in sales, the increase in demand has been combined with a sufficient supply, because due to depopulation, there are enough houses available and therefore there has been no tension of prices”, he comments on the supply of housing in Zamora Arias, who points out that housing prices in this capital are at historical lows.
Madrid, Teruel, San Sebastián… Why are they the capitals with the highest increases?
The imbalance between supply and demand is the reason why the price of real estate increased throughout the territory in 2022 and, in cases such as Madrid, Teruel, San Sebastián and Valencia, this shock is even greater.
As Arias clarifies, what happened in Madrid and Valencia is that, as a result of the confinements due to covid-19, a revaluation of the space was generated, since, by spending more time in the homes and incorporating teleworking dynamics, they discovered new needs.
“This coincided with a time of very low interest rates, which was also facilitating access to financing. With which, everything came together and it was a perfect moment to boost the demand in the purchase of housing”, assures the Tinsa board of directors.
He adds that this situation generated that all this demand -to which is also added the derivative of the search for employment and vacation properties- has been found with an insufficient housing stock, that is, with an offer that has not been able to adapt to that “so sudden” increase in demand.
Cheaper municipalities and more expensive capitals to buy homes
Linares (Jaén) and Ponferrada (León) are the relevant Spanish municipalities at the provincial level -that is, they are not provincial capitals but have markets with significant real estate activity- that are cheaper to buy a home.
According to the 70 locations with these characteristics analyzed by Tinsa in the last quarter of 2022, Linares -with a price of €789 per square meter- and Ponferrada (€802/m2), are followed by Talavera de la Reina (€822 /m2), Mérida, (€910/m2) and Lorca (€944/m2).
The average price per square meter in Spain stands at €1,751 and the most expensive capitals are San Sebastián (€4,074/m2), Barcelona (€3,591/m2) and Madrid (€3,583/m2), followed at some distance by Bilbao and Palma de Majorca.
The cheapest are Zamora (€1,013/m2), Soria (€1,049/m2) and Ciudad Real (€1,066/m2).
Arias explains that, depending on whether the housing stock is sufficient or not, the price has increased more or less depending on whether it could meet that demand.
Madrid, Aragon and Navarra, autonomies in which the price has risen the most
By autonomous community, the regions that experienced the greatest year-on-year variation in 2022 were Madrid (10.4%), Aragón (10.3%), Navarra (8.7%), Andalusia (7.3%) and Castilla y León (7.3%).
According to Arias, the Community of Madrid is where the greatest price increase is being observed, since the cost is increasing to a great extent both in the capital and in the surrounding municipalities.
“This suggests that there is great competition for space within the capital and that this pushes prices very upwards.
But, in addition, there is a search for larger spaces in the metropolitan areas and there is also a certain expulsion effect, since living in some districts of the capital is too expensive and some people are looking for housing in the surrounding municipalities”, he concludes.
According to Tinsa’s board of directors, they hope that in 2023 the demand will moderate “a bit”, although they do not believe that there will be a drastic drop.
