Housing search trends in 2021

September is the ideal month for people interested in buying a house in Ibiza to start looking for and visiting properties of interest to them. Here are some of the trends in these searches for the remainder of 2021.

This time of year is perfect for several reasons: there is more time to find the perfect home, less pressure to make the final decision, sufficient projection to carry out possible works or reforms, ...

The Association of Registrars of Property, Movable and Mercantile Assets of Spain, in a study, states that in the first quarter of 2021, 129,228 home sales and purchases were made in Spain, 13.6% more than the previous quarter and 1.5% more in year-on-year variation. The sales data also shows growth in April and May with increases of around 1.6% and 8.6% respectively compared to 2019.

In this context, what is clear is that there are some trends that are marking the search for housing this summer and that will continue to gain momentum and prominence in the final months of the year:

Interest in second homes on the coast

After the arrival of the pandemic, there has been a great interest in second homes in coastal areas where you can enjoy your holidays, leisure or even teleworking in a quieter and different space to your usual residence.

In fact, according to data from the Spanish Association of Property, Movable and Mercantile Property Registrars, in the first quarter of 2021, the highest number of property sales were registered in Madrid, Barcelona, Alicante, Valencia and Malaga, four of them being provinces with coastline.

The prominence of fixed-rate mortgages

In recent months, fixed-rate mortgages have become increasingly popular. Among other things, this may be due to the fact that this type of loan generates greater long-term stability, a highly desirable factor for lenders in times of economic uncertainty.

In fact, in the first quarter of 2021, 56.7% of mortgages were taken out at a fixed interest rate, an all-time high in terms of the percentage of new mortgage loans, according to data from the Spanish Association of Property, Movable Property and Mercantile Registrars.

The search for single-family homes, outdoor spaces and communal areas continues to boom

The new habits and needs generated by confinement have greatly influenced the type of housing preferred by buyers. In this sense, there has been a greater demand for modern homes, with larger spaces, luminosity and outdoor spaces.

So much so that, in the last quarter of 2020, the purchase of single-family homes came to occupy 22.5% of total home sales, an all-time high, according to data from the Real Estate Registry Statistics for the fourth quarter of 2020 from the Spanish Association of Property, Movable Goods and Mercantile Registrars.

Prioritising sustainable housing

Buyers are paying increasing attention to the energy efficiency of their homes, the sustainability of their constructions and even the green facilities they have, such as charging stations for electric vehicles, renewable energy plants or solar panels.

In this sense, this trend is expected to continue and even strengthen. In fact, the importance of this issue is such that, for housing refurbishments that focus on increasing energy efficiency, state aid can be counted on under the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan.

More technology for construction, home search, valuations and transactions

The pandemic has greatly boosted the digital transformation of real estate. For example, it is now possible to contract a home valuation in a private and totally online way, visit a property remotely through virtual reality, and even close rental transactions in the digital environment.

In addition, new digital services for the home have proliferated, allowing almost any type of management to be carried out through a mobile app, such as renting furniture, hiring a cleaning service, a caretaker, or technical personnel to solve breakdowns.

Source: Instituto de Valoraciones