Spain is not only unique landscapes, a fascinating culture and a friendly climate. It is also, or perhaps above all, an attractive place to live, work and invest. As the latest Eurostat data indicates, the purchase of real estate on the Iberian Peninsula is also encouraged by its prices – which are rising much more slowly than in Poland, for example.
Developments in the European property market
As reported in Q4 2023, property prices in the Eurozone fell by 1.1 per cent and in the European Union rose by 0.2 per cent. – compared to the same quarter a year earlier. There is slightly more variation between countries. What is striking is the large disparity between countries where property prices are soaring and those where they remain stable or are falling significantly.
Among the Member States, eight showed an annual decrease in house prices between Q4 2023 and 2022, while eighteen showed an annual increase. The largest decreases were recorded in Luxembourg (-14.4 per cent), Germany (-7.1 per cent) and Finland (-4.4 per cent). Poles will not be surprised to learn that the largest increases were recorded just over the Vistula (+13 per cent), in Bulgaria (+10.1 per cent) and in Croatia (+9.5 per cent). The average for the euro area was -1.1 per cent.
Compared to Q3 2023, prices fell in eleven Member States, were stable in one (Italy) and rose in fourteen EU countries. The largest decreases were recorded in France (-2.7 per cent), Latvia (-2.5 per cent), and Denmark and Sweden (both -2.3 per cent), while the largest increases were recorded in Poland (+4.8 per cent), Croatia (+3.4 per cent) and Ireland (+3 per cent). For the euro area, prices fell by 0.7 per cent on average.
Stable on the Iberian Peninsula
Comparing the fourth quarters of 2023 and 2022, property prices in Spain increased by more than three times less than in Poland – by 4.3 per cent. In contrast, they decreased by 1 per cent compared to the third quarter of 2023, demonstrating the stability of the Spanish property market. This is also confirmed by earlier data from Registradores de Espana. Despite the very high interest in houses and flats on the Iberian Peninsula by, among others, our compatriots, the situation on the market here is much more stable than in Poland.
However, it is not just property prices that are making Spain increasingly important as a new place to live – also among Poles. We feel good in Andalusia because the inhabitants have similar attitudes and values, such as family, meetings, friends, good food and shared meals. At the same time, they do not know what a rush is, which is conducive to the relaxed and peaceful life on the Costa del Sol that more and more Poles are opting for.
Spain’s geopolitical stability is also increasingly important, which also affects the property market. In the era of the war in Ukraine, it has become a safe haven for investors who want to invest their capital or are looking for a place to retire peacefully in a friendly climate. This is increasingly evident among Poles, who rank among the top buyers of flats and houses on the Iberian Peninsula.
