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Catalan Property Market Closed 2022 Strong

20 Feb 2023 | Blog

The Catalan Association of Property Agents (Asociación de Agentes Inmobiliarios de Catalunya, AIC) and Barcelona’s Official College of Property Agents (Colegio Oficial de Agentes de la Propiedad Inmobiliaria de Barcelona, COAPI) released figures on the Catalan property market for 2022’s fourth quarter as well as the past year. Vicenç Hernández Reche, Tecnotramit’s CEO and chairman for the National Association of Property Agents (Asociación Nacional de Agentes Inmobiliarios, ANAI) and AIC analysed the data. The expert was accompanied by Anna Puigdevall, CEO for ANAI and AIC, and treasurer for FIABCI Spain; Gerard Duelo Ferrer, chairman for COAPI Spain and Barcelona boards; and Luis Fabra, university chair president on Property Market.

According to the report, the number of registered purchases in Catalonia during last year’s fourth quarter was 24,038, a quarterly decrease of 10.9% with regard to the previous one as 26,966 purchases were recorded during that period, the highest level since 2007’s second term. Nevertheless, an 8.7% increase was recorded during the same quarter in 2021. 102,231 purchases were filed during the entire year, a 14.7% year-on-year increase and the largest one since 2007.


The impact of inflation on mortgages was noticed by the end of 2022

The number of mortgages on property in Catalonia during the last 12 months (as of November 2022) was 81,151, a -5.9% quarterly drop but a 15.3% year-on-year increase. The average interest rate for new mortgages was 2.6%, a significant rise in relation to the previous quarter (2.27%). An upward trend can be expected in the course of the upcoming terms. Fixed rate mortgages record an average of 2.65% whilst 2.41% for those on variable rates.

79.4% of properties were purchased through mortgages in Catalonia and important regional differences were present: 88.8% in the province of Barcelona, far above the numbers reached in Girona (61.7%), Lleida (61%), and Tarragona (62.2%). The average property mortgage debt reached €166,190, maximum since 2008 with a 0.4% quarterly rise and 2.9% year-on-year increase. This growth is due to increasing prices and the average conveyed surface.