Coronavirus brings boom in Valencia and Alicante villa sales

Buyers seek larger homes with outdoor space as the pandemic affects the property market

It goes without saying that in general terms the Spanish property market has suffered greatly from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic with sales figures dropping dramatically and average prices falling due to a decrease in demand, but some sectors of the market appear to have enjoyed a mini-boom as potential buyers seek types of residence which they might have been less interested in under “normal” circumstances.

An example of this concerns chalets, villas and detached houses in the Comunidad Valenciana, for which, according to the latest statistical bulletin from Spain’s property registrars, there was a significant increase in demand during the third quarter of this year. The registrars report that as more and more people looked for individual properties with outdoor space in the suburbs, sales of such properties accounted for 23.7 per cent of all transactions registered in the region between 1st July and 30th September – the highest proportion ever recorded - while on the other hand the figures for areas closer to the city centre fell.

Similarly, in Spain as a whole during the last quarter stand-alone homes accounted for 20.4 per cent of all purchases, again the highest figure on record.

At the same time, probably as another consequence of the coronavirus lockdown restrictions, it appears that larger flats are becoming more attractive to buyers than small apartments: the latest data report an average floor area of 109.7 square metres, no doubt boosted by the need for many more people to work from home rather than commuting into the office. 58.4 per cent of all flats purchased had a floor area of at least 80m2, while at the other end of the scale only 2.3 per cent were under 40m2 and 13.7 per cent between 40 and 60m2.

The registrars also detect a certain degree of stagnation in the demand for homes in more densely populated town and city centres. In late 2016 the city of Valencia accounted for as many as 37.3 per cent of all residential property sales in the region, but during the third quarter of this year that figure fell to 28.05 per cent, and similar trends have been noticed in and around other major cities such as Madrid, Barcelona and Sevilla.