Price of Land Falls 16.4% in Q1
June 18th, 2012
The average price per square metre of land in Spain stood at 177.6 euros in the first quarter of 2012, representing a decrease of 16.4% over the same period of 2011.
In the first quarter of 2012, 4.6 million square metres were sold, with a value of 582.9 million euros, which was 15.2% less area than the previous year and 32.9% less in value. In the same period in 2005, at the height of the housing boom, building plots worth 5,500 million euros were sold.
Where in this same period in 2004, 22,000 transactions for the sale of land were carried out, until March this year the figure stood at 3,598 transactions (-19.2% year-on-year). A year later, in June 2005, the record for the number of plots of land sold was beaten, in this quarter amounting to 33 million square metres.
In municipalities with a population of over 50,000, the average price per square metre fell year-on-year by 11.8%. The highest prices were registered in the municipalities of over 50,000 inhabitants, in the provinces of Madrid, with an average of 732.7 euros per square metre, Barcelona, with 674.2 euros per square metre, and Zaragoza, with 507.1 euros per square metre.
The lowest average prices within municipalities of over 50,000 inhabitants, were in the provinces of León, with 90.5 euros per square metre, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, with 149.4 euros per square metre, and Almeria, with 160.9 euros per square metre. In towns with under 1,000 inhabitants, 428 transactions were carried out, which was 13.9% less than the same quarter last year, and in towns of between 1,000 and 5,000 inhabitants, 972 sales were completed, representing a decrease of 22.5% year-on-year.
Meanwhile, El Mundo reported that in the larger municipalities, with populations of between 5,000 and 10,000, the number of transactions was 643, which was 39.2% less, while in those municipalities whose population is between 10,000 and 50,000 inhabitants, 1,023 transactions were carried out, a decrease of 2%.
Finally, in municipalities with more than 50,000 inhabitants, the number of sales was 532, which was 11.3% less than in the first quarter of last year.
