Apartment construction is falling in Catalonia despite the housing crisis

BarcelonaThe housing crisis, and especially its rising prices, is caused by many factors, but one of them is a lack of supply. Economic laws explain that when there is high demand for a product and low supply, prices rise. Therefore, more housing would have to be built to lower apartment prices, which seems difficult, according to the building permit data from the College of Architects of Catalonia (COAC) published this Thursday. The number of permits is falling, indicating that new apartment construction will decline in the coming months.

The situation is widespread in Catalonia, but particularly serious in Barcelona. According to COAC data, permits for new housing in Catalonia fell by 7.5% in 2025 compared to 2024, to 16,128 properties, a decrease after the rebound in 2024, when large-scale social housing developments were approved. The slowdown in construction in the Barcelona region is particularly noticeable in the Catalan capital, which has experienced a drop of almost 40%, with 9,465 building permits issued. The COAC (Official Association of Architects of Catalonia) has attributed this decline to the lack of available land in the city and regulations such as the requirement to reserve 30% of new developments for social housing. Barcelona city led the decline, but the rest of the region also saw a drop of 16.35%, marking a change in trend compared to the last four years. Thus, in the other towns and cities of the Barcelona metropolitan area, 8,270 apartments were approved, the lowest figure since 2021 (7,731). "There is a lot of political will and the tools are being increased, but the number of permits issued for privately developed housing is still not recovering. In 2024, we had the best figure in the last 10 years, reaching 16,000 with a positive trend, but far from these political objectives," said the director general of the COAC (Official College of Architects of Catalonia). The dean of the College of Architects, Guim Costa, however, expressed optimism and emphasized that the government's objectives of building 50,000 homes by 2030 and promoting 210,000 public-private partnerships will materialize with more activity. "Many of the problems we have will be solved by flooding the market with supply," Costa stated. In this regard, he appreciated that the political class "is addressing and trying to find solutions" to the housing emergency. As a result of these changes, developers and builders are "encouraged" because "there is a timeline, budgets, and legal and financial certainty that will allow for an increase in housing in the coming years." In total, the College of Architects believes that 300,000 homes are needed in the coming years to cope with sustained population growth. In Barcelona city, half of all newly approved housing units were subsidized (597). The percentage of total housing units has risen from 46.3% to 50%, but the volume of new subsidized housing is now lower, as more than 900 units were approved last year. Costa has said that one of the aspects that should be "streamlined," in his opinion, is the regulation of the 30% quota for social housing in developments. Throughout 2025, there has been a significant percentage increase in the proportion of developments with subsidized housing, but the number of homes resulting from the 30% reservation remains "small," he warned. Of the total projects, 7 apply the 30% reservation and combine market-rate and subsidized housing, totaling 166 homes, 52 of which are subsidized. In the rest of Catalonia, the total number of subsidized homes fell to 14.43%, with 2,314 new homes approved. Regarding speculative home purchases, Costa asked that the accumulation of homes not be linked to speculation and that "counterproductive" measures be avoided. "We have to find mechanisms and not demonize people who own homes, and see how they can enter the rental market sensibly," he stated. Less construction and more renovation

Aside from the total number of homes, the total area of ​​building permits issued in Catalonia also decreased, with a 4.3% year-on-year drop, bringing it back to levels similar to those at the end of the pandemic, at 4,511,786 square meters. The decline is concentrated in the Barcelona area, as the results for 2025 are positive in the rest of Catalonia, especially in Lleida and Girona. The COAC study also shows that renovations remain stagnant. This type of construction represents only 28% of the total area of ​​permits issued, a 1.35% decrease compared to the previous year, with 1,232,399 square meters of renovations, a decrease for the second consecutive year. In this case, the Barcelona area is the only one showing positive figures, with a 9.13% increase in renovations, concentrated in the city of Barcelona (52.9%).