Housing prices rose in the EU in the past decade on average, but Spain was one of the few countries where prices fell, says Eurostat, the EU data office. Spanish house prices fell by 4,5% between 2010 and 2020, while the EU average rose by 27%, according to Europa Press, Eurostat's reporting figures. سيارات
Spain was just one of four EU countries that registered declines in house prices, alongside Greece (-31%), Italy (-15.5%), and Cyprus (-7.7%), all countries in the south region of the EU.
However, you can see that Spain was declining in the first half of the decade because of steep falls, with major increases in the second half, but insufficient to lift Spain away from negative territory for the whole decade.
Countries in the south of the EU. Click to broaden
At the other end of the scale, teenage house prices exploded 105% in Estonia, Hungary 92%, Luxembourg 90.5% and Austria 81.3%.
EU rental market for housing
Spain has improved its returns in the rental market by 4% in the decade, but nothing compared to Estonia (+137%), Lithuania (+107%) and Ireland (+62%). The average EU figure was +15%. In Greece (-25%) and Cyprus, the biggest declines were (-4.5 percent ).
Home price index latest EU
According to the latest house price index from Eurostat, in Q3 2020, Spanish house prices were up 1.8 percent year-on-year at a lower level for Europe. In the same period, prices in Luxembourg were up 13.6 percent. Again, in Southern Europe the most weak house price trends were found, with the exception of Portugal, where prices increased by 7.1%. When reporting on external demand, I focus on a few key markets and pay little attention to other countries that I lump together as the 'rest,' which together comprise close to half the market of international purchasers. I have my reasons, but a reader recently asked about the 'rest,' so I thought I would look at the facts of this group for once.
My main reason not to dwell on the 'rest' in my quarterly and annual reports on Spanish property foreign demand is the lack of information. The data sources do not break down numbers across the top 20 markets by nationality. I can't do much about that.
I also tend to focus on markets that are relevant to the bulk of my readers, in particular second-home and expat markets that comprise mainly Northern European buyers as well as Golden Visa investors. I suppose that a large part of the demand from the 'rest' is made up of economic migrants purchasing in housing markets which do not concern most of my readers. For example, Germans spent an average amount of €2.334/m2 on Spanish properties in the first half of 2020, whilst Moroccan buyers used €674/m2 according to figures from the Spanish Notary's Association. They are in completely different segments of the market, with little common interest, by budget and location. I could write a book about the various segments of the market, but I doubt anyone's interested.
Here's what I can say about the rest of the world.
Demand for Spanish property 'Rest of the World'
In reporting international demand, the countries I focus on are the main markets for Golden Visas in the UK, France, Germany, Belgium, Italy, Sweden, Russia and China, the last two being the main markets. I also keep track of the smaller Norwegian, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Denmark and Ireland markets, though when looking at the key markets, I sometimes lump them in with the rest. Although I usually have information on Algeria, Romania, Morocco, Ukraine, Poland and Bulgaria, all other markets are put in a "rest."
In the last period of data – the third quarter of 2020 – foreign purchasers with the exception of large key markets took part in 5,580 purchases, down 25 percent from the year before (chart at top).
As you can see from the pie below, the rest made up 48% of the foreign market, compared to 52% coming from the key markets.
The 'rest' collapsed as follows:
It still leaves the 'rest of the rest,' but later I'll get there.
Demand for the rest had increased by about 20% in the middle of the last decade, but began to cool down in 2018 and stalled entirely in 2019 before the pandemic dropped together with all other markets in 2020. Indeed, before the pandemic hit, Spanish property had lost its appeal to all foreign investors.
The rest had steadily grown as a percentage of the foreign market, although coronavirus, which I suppose was more difficult for more far-flung countries, caused a decline in Q3.
Where do you buy the rest? The only data I have is from 2015, but since then the picture has not changed much.
And who's the rest of the rest, finally? The only data I have is from 2015, once again, but you get the picture. Buyers from around the world come from 128 countries that year with investors. For you, that's globalization.