The home buying and selling sector in Barcelona continues to be positive despite the fact that new construction acquisitions, renovations and renovations continue to decline.

Sale of second-hand homes in Barcelona
In Barcelona the situation has changed from one year to the next, and if the sale of homes in Barcelona continues to rise it is thanks to second-hand homes. Although the development of the purchase of finished properties was growing even in the midst of the pandemic, in 2022 there was the first decrease in recent years, a process that throughout 2023 has continued with a more pronounced decrease.

The second-hand market continues to be a refuge value for investors who see how their money in the bank produces nothing, instead investing in the brick, and at the price that rent is in Barcelona, they obtain a good return.

However, it is important to note that investing in real estate also carries risks, such as the need to manage properties, deal with potential vacancies, maintain and repair properties, and being exposed to fluctuations in market prices. Investors should carefully consider their financial objectives, risk tolerance and conduct a thorough analysis before investing in the second-hand market in Barcelona or any other town in the metropolitan area. Additionally, economic and market conditions can change over time, so it is essential to be aware of current and future trends before making investment decisions. That is why at GEINBAR we always advise choosing a good real estate agency, with an expert team, before starting a purchase that does not produce the desired profitability.


The general situation at the national level
717,734 is the total number of homes that were sold last year in Spain. A figure that, ultimately, translates into growth in the real estate market, but broken down into segments provides very unequal results when comparing new and second-hand construction transactions. To understand the current context of the evolution of home sales in our country, it is worth going back to the year of the pandemic. In 2020, the number of acquisitions fell below half a million properties (487,354) for the first time in several years, a figure well below the 569,993 in 2019. In 2021 it rose again, registering 674,249 sales, that is, the best figure achieved in the last fourteen years. The more than 700,000 transactions in 2022 underpin the recovery trends that began the previous year: the second-hand housing market in Spain is in a period that goes beyond stability, recording notable growth.
In a year things have changed. Thus, from the 71,827 properties acquired in 2021, it increased to 67,763 in 2022. Of course, these are still figures that exceed those of 2020 (60,392) and 2019 (56,286).

It also happens that second-hand housing has taken the opposite path. This type of property declined in the Covid-19 year, going from 513,707 transactions in 2019 to 426,962 in 2020, almost 90,000 fewer. The comeback in the following period was almost exceptional. Not in vain, the market closed the 2021 period registering the sale of 602,422 second-hand properties. In 2022 the increase has not been as notable (649,971), however, it has been like a lifeline for the real estate market in this last year.

Rehabilitation and reforms
There is another segment that has also registered a slight decrease: that of rehabilitation and reforms. This type of operations has especially suffered the ravages of instability in recent years, both due to international instability with the continuous armed conflicts (Ukraine, Israel, etc.), and more specifically at the national level due to the deplorable actions in matters of housing by the socialist government.

And it seems to continue without a clear horizon. In 2022, 121,500 renovations and rehabilitations were carried out in Spain, compared to 123,000 the previous year. These are figures still far from the pre-pandemic stage (in 2019, 107,600 works were recorded in Spanish homes); much more than the 74,000 in 2020. In parallel, the number of housing starts has more or less followed the same trajectory of ups and downs during these years. In 2019, 96,245 properties were started, a figure that fell to 75,930 in 2020. A year later, it rose considerably, registering 100,504 transactions of this type.

A boom that, a year later, seems to have deflated. In total, in 2022, 96,996 housing starts were quantified, which is 3,508 less than the previous period. In this way, the segment is placed almost at the same starting point as it was before Covid arrived to destabilize the real estate market.

In summary, the real estate sector will have to be patient to see how it evolves, whether it stabilizes or, on the contrary, continues to decline.