Barcelona, an always attractive real estate market

It is worth starting with the most obvious, but, at the same time, most powerful reason: in the real estate market of Barcelona, at least as far as its prime residential sector is concerned, that interest has been maintained by various profiles of buyers and investors because, after all, ours is a cosmopolitan city that offers a very high quality of life. Furthermore, an interesting fact, unlike other metropolises such as New York or Paris, here there has been no exodus of professionals to other locations because, in Barcelona, life is very good.

Thus, we have been able to verify how the national buyer has increased considerably, but without ceasing to see important operations with clients from other countries, who have been able to acquire homes through the digital channels and platforms that professionals in the sector have enabled to facilitate the remote visit process.

New context, high interest

It is true that the pandemic has modified buyer behavior, benefiting those regions located on the periphery of large cities where homes can be found that respond to new needs for space and isolation, something we have seen in a large number of first-time home buyers. We have also detected how the international investor has been relatively slowed down, due to restrictions on movement in different countries. But despite all this, there is still a lot of interest in Barcelona, especially in its upper area and its periphery, perhaps somewhat less in Ciutat Vella.

Part of this interest is due to a very attractive stock of new construction that generates demand, corroborated by a recent report prepared by the Sociedad de Tasación, according to which the average price of new construction housing in Spain has risen in 2020 to its highest figure since 2010, standing at 2,472 euros per square meter. An amount that approaches the 2007 highs of 2,905 euros per square meter.

Investors and buyers who, in addition to capital, have time, are very interested in acquiring a project in development, since new construction offers higher quality compared to second-hand homes and that is something to take into account for those who invest looking for a lower replacement cost and better capital growth prospects. But beware, second-hand homes are also interesting for those investors interested in buying a home, renovating it and reselling it. And it is not a segment that, in Barcelona, has lost its appeal.

In addition, it will be necessary to see how the sale of hotels for their reclassification as residences affects the market, and in what way. For now, a large offer of apartments of this type has not been incorporated, but we are very attentive.

A stable market that will improve exponentially

All the indicators we have show that the Barcelona real estate market has remained stable. There is quality stock, investor appetite, interest in continuing to live in this attractive metropolis and the forecast that all this will improve considerably when the vaccine begins to be commercialized and borders open.