Málaga: Spain’s most ‘dynamic’ property market

With building licences for new housing projects up by 55% in Málaga in 2016, the province – together with Madrid, Barcelona and Alicante – leads the field.

A new report published last month by BBVA Bank and entitled Situación Inmobiliaria España (‘Spain Real Estate Outlook’), puts Málaga – which of course includes the Costa del Sol – firmly in the frame as the province to have registered the highest percentage of homes sold in Spain with demand increasing by almost 15% between 2014 and 2016…

Recently presented in the capital of the Costa del Sol by BBVA analysts Félix Lores and David Cortés, the study also highlights several other very positive facts about the current health of the real estate sector in Southern Spain.

The authors point out, for example, that from 2014 to 2016, property prices in Málaga rose by 3.1% – equating to three times the national average – placing the province in third position in Spain after only the Balearics and Barcelona which saw increases of 3.5% and 3.3% respectively. Not that all Spanish regions enjoyed positive results, of course, and in Sevilla housing prices dropped by 1.6% over the same period.

The study also shows that with building licences for new housing projects up by 55% in Málaga, the province – in common with Madrid, Barcelona and Alicante – leads the field, while pointing out that although numbers are recovering nicely they’re still far lower than they were prior to the financial crisis in 2007.

“Sales have been picking up since 2013 with Madrid, Barcelona and the entire Mediterranean arc – along with the islands – enjoying Spain’s highest recovery,” said Lores who, concurring with other real estate experts, went on to point out that this recent and continued growth is being driven not only by overseas buyers but nationally by higher levels of employment and disposable household income, too.