That the pandemic continues to mark our lives, with everything that has advanced so far, is an undeniable reality.

Also in housing matters.

One year and four months after the arrival of Covid-19, the exodus to the outskirts of Madrid continues and, consequently, prices continue to grow at a higher rate in the periphery than in the capital itself.

The search for larger houses, with greater lighting or with outdoor spaces has not passed after

the

boom

that unleashed the confinement

and everything seems to indicate that the trend of the curve, although not so marked, will follow the same line in the next times.

Prices and demand for

new-

build

housing

have grown significantly above second-hand. In the last year, and taking June as a reference, brand-new houses

in the metropolitan area have increased their prices by 0.8% on average

(to 2,055 euros / m2) while in the capital they have grown by 0.5% (up to 3,682 euros / m2). A circumstance that had not occurred until now or, at least, not in a sustained way and in which the stoppage of construction brought about by the Covid has had a lot to do with it.

Towns such as

Las Rozas

(2,429 euros / m2),

Torrejón de Ardoz

(1,719 euros / m2) and

San Sebastián de los Reyes

(2,444 euros / m2), at the top, have experienced increases of 1.2%, 1.1% and 1%, respectively, according to the study just published

by the Taxation Society

, which has analyzed the new developments in 16 municipalities, including the capital, with more than 50,000 inhabitants. And in none of them, brand new home prices have fallen.

That in average terms, because some single-family developments in the areas closest to Madrid, such as

Colmenar Viejo or Tres Cantos

, for example,

have suddenly increased their prices by up to 20 or 30%

since the pandemic took place. presence.

Teleworking, a new vision of the home ...

And what explains why Madrid residents continue with this exodus more than a year later and despite the hopeful forecasts offered by vaccines? Mainly, that many companies have introduced

teleworking without an expiration date

and it is no longer necessary to be so close to the job if you only have to move a couple of days a week, and that

the Covid has altered the look towards our homes

. What used to be valid is not valid now and will probably never be valid again, experts say.

The flats of a few meters, with little lighting or without a small balcony or terrace but located in the very center of the city have been relegated in many cases to the good-looking of spacious homes, with space for teleworking, garden areas and large windows. Just

what abounds outside of town

.

"Now other things are valued above location, such as quality," says the director of Institutions and Large Accounts of the Appraisal Society, Consuelo Villanueva.

For her,

"the new home has been the great winner"

in this sense because it especially brings together those improvements in spaces -including the sustainability criteria, currently so in vogue- that Madrid residents demand.

And in the metropolitan area,

prices are unbeatable when compared to those in the capital

.

But in addition to the facilities,

transportation is also key

, including for those who telecommute.

“Being well connected to the city is important.

The vector of mobility makes it easier for you to live in better conditions if you are well connected, ”says Villanueva.

In his opinion, the success of the periphery is based on three pillars:

"Supply, type of home and price

.

"

That is to say, there is much more new housing in the outskirts than in the capital (where "there is hardly a

stock

below 500,000 euros"), it has the spacious homes that are currently in demand and at a lower price than the city.

"In Madrid there is also a quality offer, but the prices are impossible," he

adds.

Madrid, leader with Barcelona

Drop down

Madrid capital maintains its position as

one of the Spanish cities with the most expensive new home price

(3,682 euros / m2), according to June data from the Valuation Society. Only Barcelona exceeds its figures (4,501 euros / m2). Behind, are San Sebastián (3,646 euros / m2), Bilbao (2,685 euros / m2) and Vitoria (2,202 euros / m2). In the capital, in the last year, prices have increased by 0.5%, surpassing the Spanish average, which stands at 0.4%. Despite everything, the growth rate is stabilizing, since last December the annual increase reached 1.3%.

In the same line they speak from

Fotocasa

, where they have also detected a great boom in the demand for new construction.

On its website, as they have indicated to this newspaper, searches for country estates, chalets and townhouses "have skyrocketed" for a year because these spaces "perfectly" meet new needs, especially open spaces.

In fact, as indicated by the search engine,

50% of the brand new homes that were sold in the past in Madrid had outdoor areas

.

A percentage that will most likely increase, because the builders have taken notice and the floors and houses they are building carry this requirement implicitly.

The demand in the south, skyrocketed

Also taking into account second-hand housing, as a result of the coronavirus the demand for houses has skyrocketed especially in the southern towns closest to Madrid.

In the municipality of Móstoles it has grown 133%

;

in Alcorcón, 124% in Leganés, 99%;

and in Getafe, 91%, according to Fotocasa's analysis of the influence that the pandemic has had on the search for housing.

"

Staying locked up at home for so long has made us realize what deficiencies our homes have

and also that they do not satisfy us enough," they point out from Fotocasa, where they argue that the search for houses with a terrace or garden, typical of single-family homes, is it shot 40% after the confinement, against that of flats, which fell by 14%.

Also in many cases, "they are looking for

a spare room to enable it as an office

because of teleworking," they say from the real estate portal.

"Citizens no longer need to live in large cities, and are looking for housing on the periphery, away from environmental and noise pollution," they add.

"For the price paid in the city for an apartment, many have seen that they can choose to buy

a larger home with more amenities at a very similar price

and even opt for much larger homes at the same price," they argue from the portal, where they add that the pandemic has changed the minds of citizens:

"You will never live in an interior house anymore

.

"

The second hand is not far behind

And if the first hand has grown remarkably with the Covid, the second, with a similar behavior, has not been left behind.

In Madrid capital, prices have fallen by 0.2% while in the periphery they have risen by 0.6%

, in interannual terms for June, and based on data from Fotocasa.

Its latest report highlights the case of

El Escorial

, where the prices of used housing have increased by 16.2% in the last year, or of

Rivas-Vaciamadrid

(10.9%),

Guadarrama

(7.4%) or

Collado Villalba

(6.5%).

And on the other hand, the fall in the price in San

Sebastián de los Reyes

(-12.5%) or

Alcalá

(9.5%) is

striking

.

The data that

Idealista

shares

on the price of the second hand in general terms is even greater.

In the Community of Madrid, according to their analysis, they would have increased in the last year by an average 3.2% while in the city they would have decreased by 1.7%.

In the region, citing the same source, the prices of used housing decreased in the first months of the pandemic, but since October 2020 they have been increasing from 0.8 to 7.6% this June.

Meanwhile, in the city, prices have fallen since March of last year, reaching a negative 3.5%.

Although

the difference between the two has been narrowing

in recent times.

In fact, this month of June is the first in which prices have turned green in the city (0.8%).

Villa de Vallecas, on the rise

Drop down

In 17 of the 21 districts of the capital, the

price of brand new homes

has grown in the last year, with

Villa de Vallecas

at the head.

In this area of ​​Madrid, the figures to be able to buy a house have increased, on average and from June 2020 to June this year, by

3.1%

(2,569 euros / m2), according to the Valuation Society data.

Above 1%, and therefore noteworthy, prices have also increased in the district of

Tetuán

(1.5%), where the square meter is at 3,611 euros;

Withdrawal

(1.3%), at 4,088 euros;

Vicálvaro

(1.3%), at 2,235 euros;

and

Ciudad Lineal

(1.2%), at 3,823 euros.

They have also gone up in

Salamanca

(0.9%), which reaches 6,103 euros;

and

Center

(0.4%), which stands at 5,137 euros.

On the opposite side of the balance, with decreasing prices, are

Fuencarral-El Pardo

(-0.9%), with the square meter at 3,755 euros,

Latina

(-0.6%), at 2,823 euros;

Puente de Vallecas

(-0.6%), at 2,522 euros;

and

Usera

(-1.2%), at 2,752 euros.

Chamberí

(5,682) and

Villaverde

(2,285) have not changed in the last year.

From the real estate portal they indicate that the demand is on the rise in the second hand because many Madrilenians have chosen to buy

a cheap second home

where they live and telework and that it covers all those demands that we mentioned previously.

Although Idealista also points out that the change in the trend in second-hand prices

is not something typical of the pandemic

, since since January 2019 the increases (or decreases, depending on the months) have been more pronounced in the surroundings. than in the city, where historically prices have always risen.

«During 2018,

the city of Madrid registered very strong year-

on-

year increases

in the sale price (exceeding 20% ​​at times) without the Community having the same impact, due to a decreasing supply and the political obstacles that from the administration they began to build new houses.

Possibly, prices in the city of Madrid approached their ceiling and began to register lower rises or even falls, while the Community maintained its own evolution, "says Francisco Iñareta, spokesman for idealista.

Price moderation

What all sources consulted converge on is that the price increases that the pandemic has unleashed are slowing down. “

In the last three months there has been a slowdown

. We believe that we will begin to enter a cycle of price moderation. Although there is still growth, it is more sustained. It is probable that at the end of the year we will see price drops in the second hand ", they point out from Fotocasa, where, on the other hand, they rule out that the new work will have a similar behavior.

The new houses, which have had "an unprecedented boom", "will stabilize their prices in a year or a year and a half" but these

"are not going to go down"

because "the new constructions are oriented to all that current demand: common areas, wide spaces, lots of natural light ... », they add from the real estate portal.

The Valuation Society spokesperson also believes that

the figures to be paid will continue to rise next year, although "not abruptly"

, and that "the ideal is for them to stabilize."

As for the

exodus

to the outskirts, from Fotocasa they believe that "it will continue at least until next year."

And Villanueva does not give dates, although he does give clues about what may happen in the future.

"The center is very powerful and personal and work development is provided by the cities," he

says before pointing out that living away from the capital is one more cycle of life today.

Time will speak.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

Know more

  • Madrid

  • Coronavirus

  • Idealistic

  • Vallecas

  • Catalonia

  • Barcelona

  • Madrid's community

  • Collado Villalba

  • Getafe

  • Alcorcón

  • Mostoles

  • Vitoria-Gasteiz

  • Bilbao

  • Three songs

  • Covid 19

  • HBPR

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