Data Shows Spanish Building Industry to Grow 4% Annually

Data Shows Spanish Building Industry to Grow 4% Annually

Crain's have returned to the Costa de Sol which is all positive 

Bloomberg describes the Madrid skyline as being a forest of cranes. While the capital of Spain is still nothing compared to the forest of cranes Dubai once was, there is definitely a noteworthy amount of building work happening around the city.

The Spanish construction industry is back and better than ever. The number of new builds in 2013 fell off a cliff, dropping 96% compared to the peak of 2006. Not many would have predicted that it would take just four years for the industry to be full of cash and confidence once more.

Data from the Ministry of Public Works shows that the building industry – which includes constructing new homes and offices – is set to grow 4% annually through 2020, with a 5% increase expected in just Madrid.

The benefits of the stable real estate industry are being felt outside of Madrid as well. Building sites are propping up all over Spain, with data from Bloomberg showing a small but steady increase in construction.

Building activity is beginning to reflect the Spanish economy, which itself is expected to rise by over 3% for the third year running. The data shows a positive trend where projects are quickly replacing one another and leading to constant activity. The building industry appears to be making up for lost time.

Additional data from the College of Property Registrars in Spain shows that property sales for new homes in Madrid and Catalonia has increased 10% for the first quarter of 2017, almost identical to the growth in resale properties. The fortunes of the two sectors are connected, even though new build activity typically follows the trends in resales – a trend that is particularly true for the Costa del Sol, where new build activity has picked up significantly in the past 18 months.

Felix Lores, an economist with BBVA Research, believes Spain has learned their lesson from the last property boom. This time the recovery is being anchored on sustainable models of consumption and exports rather than on the bubble of short-term credit.

This represents a significant difference from what happened in the past. It’s expected that the annual increase for new home constructions in 2017 and 2017 will be over 6%. Typically a surge in construction activity would lead to an increase in GDP, which relied on the property sector. This time things are the other way around.