Catalonia, among the communities where the purchase of housing becomes more expensive the least

BarcelonaThe sale price of housing in Catalonia during the first quarter has risen by 10.5% compared to the same period last year, below the state average of 12.9%, according to the housing price index published by the INE this Monday.

In fact, in the comparison between autonomous communities, Catalonia is the second where prices have remained most stable, only behind the Basque Country (10.3%) and at the same level as Navarra (10.5%). On the other hand, where sale values have increased the most compared to a year ago are in Aragon and Murcia (15.6%); in Castilla y León and Ceuta (14.9%); and in Asturias, the Valencian Community and La Rioja (14.3%).

According to the manager of the Chamber of Urban Property of Barcelona, Òscar Gorgues, Catalonia is "reaching the Meseta effect" (that is, a certain stabilization), after a period of rising prices. He believes that, although "demand will continue to rise", there will be "less solvent" buyers, or in other words, who can afford the purchase prices.

The Ministry of Housing and Urban Agenda estimates the average price per square meter at 2,748 euros during the first three months of this year, based on official appraisals. Catalonia is in the upper part of the ranking, only behind the Community of Madrid, where the price is 4,047.5 euros; the Balearic Islands (3,885.6 euros) and the Basque Country (3,036.3 euros).

Less buying for investment

Gorgues disconnects the evolution of prices from rent regulation, and believes that "possibly the legislation affecting large holders has had more influence." He assures that "investment demand has decreased in Catalonia," and that this "may have helped" to relax prices.

Despite the upward trend and the supply problem, Gorgues points out that, unlike the years before the real estate bubble burst, "the financial system is very sound". He argues that "there is a solid purchase, which is not speculative, and with a good amount of savings", determined by the amount of mortgages compared to the purchase price of the homes.

Dominance of the second-hand market

Regarding the type of housing, in Catalonia, second-hand homes have become 10.8% more expensive compared to last year, more so than new constructions, which have increased by 8%. Gorgues points out that this is a consequence of a lack of supply. "The market that is fundamentally moving is the second-hand one," he explains. In contrast, new construction currently being signed off "was sold some time ago, as it is done off-plan".

On a quarterly basis, sales and purchase values have risen by 3.3%, driven by new construction (4.8%). If we look at how prices have changed in the first three months of the year, Catalonia continues to be below the state average (3.5%) but is no longer among the territories with the lowest increase. The price advance in our region has eased compared to the last three months of last year, when they soared by 10.9%.

The Spanish government also estimates price variations with respect to official valuations. Its statistics are higher than those of the INE, which are based on the final transaction value, but they follow the same trend.

The Ministry of Housing concludes that prices in the first quarter at the state level are 13.9% above the same period last year. In the case of Catalonia, it believes the increase has been 12% – and not 10.5%, as the statistical body states – but it remains in the lower range of the bracket.

For their part, the real estate portals pisos.com and Fotocasa agree in pointing out, after learning these data for the first quarter of 2026 published by the INE, that housing prices maintain an intense upward trend that already "widely exceeds" the peaks of the real estate bubble, due to the serious "insufficiency," reports Europa Press. Thus, the platforms have agreed that the official data, which reflect an interannual increase of 12.9% and a quarterly increase of 3.5%, confirm a "buyer pressure" that resembles the period prior to the 2007 crisis.

In this regard, the director of Studies at pisos.com, Ferran Font, has highlighted that the residential market has started the year with a strength that "shows no signs of exhaustion", chaining more than a decade of increases and registering double-digit year-on-year rises in all autonomous communities. For their part, the spokesperson and director of Studies at Fotocasa, Maria Matos, has detailed that 18% of the population is looking for owner-occupied housing compared to 12% in 2019, with 80% concentrated in habitual housing and 25% in replacement without significant financing, within a "solvent" profile with high purchasing power, with an investment focus.