Among the headlines that have hit the media recently is the recovery of Spain’s property market. The market has been suffering from a crisis that hit the economy a decade ago. Recent findings indicate that the economy has generally posted commendable improvement in recent years. Many markets like the forex in Spain (Forex españa) and real estate have generally improved within the last few years. The growth from 2013 to 2017 has particularly been inspiring since figures indicate that up to a 30% improvement has been recorded in the market. This growth is expected to continue for the next few years as the country hopes to fully recover by implementing its new economic policies.
Several Areas of the Economy Have Improved
The property market is not the only sector that has improved. In recent years, strong growth has been posted in construction and service industries. The property market has also benefited from improving livelihoods. Some of the key factors that have helped the property market rise include:
- Conducive interest rates
- An increase in employment
- A recovering construction industry
- A rise in overall local demand
There is also a strong growth in the construction industry which has boomed to new levels in 2018. Indeed, since the turn of the new decade, the economy of Spain has been posting little improvements with each successive year. By 2017, much of the damage done in the previous decade has been undone.
A Little Background on the Spanish Property Market
Spain’s property market has not always been sluggish. In the 1990’s, the supply of property was transcendent to the level where prices almost become constant. This trend would continue all the way into the early 2000’s when the market slowed down for a few years only to pick up again. By 2007, the market was at its peak. The crisis that came during the later parts of the decade, however, threatened the market, almost bringing it to its knees. In 2008, the bubble finally burst and the prices of property tumbled down to levels not seen in that decade. For the next decade, the market would seek to regain its pre-crisis status.
While the market has performed strongly recently, the value of the property is yet to reach pre-crisis levels. Transaction levels have significantly improved and other sectors of the economy have been supportive of this industry. 2017 particularly posted among the most impressive results of the decade. Interest rates declined significantly compared to 4 years before.
The Forecast for 2018 and Beyond
2018 started on the strong foundation that was laid down in 2017. While the annual sales of property are yet to reach the sky-high levels of 2007, the market showed a lot of growth getting to half a million sales during the year. This improvement is significant by the standards of recent years. It is nevertheless half of the sales of 2007. 2018 is the year when the market is expected to reach new milestones. The gap that exists in the market when compared to pre-crisis levels is expected to be closed. Since construction is growing and the unemployment levels have reduced drastically, there is a firm belief by market stakeholders that the best is yet to be seen.
