The value of appraised homes in Spain also exceeds the bubble record: 2,153 euros per m2

The average price of homes on the open market has been exceeding the peaks recorded during the housing bubble over the past year. First it was the price of new apartments, then the one from all the homes on the open market together –new builds and second-hand properties– and, finally, used apartments –Prices surpassed bubble levels across SpainBut not yet in Catalonia. Now it's the turn of another indicator: the appraisal value. The Ministry of Housing and Urban Agenda's estimate of the value per square meter of housing reached €2,153 in the third quarter of this year, surpassing for the first time the €2,101 per square meter recorded in the first quarter of 2008. The increase recorded in the third quarter was 2.9% compared to the second quarter, while the annual increase per square meter was 12.1%. The record that's missing

However, in the case of Catalonia, this record was already surpassed in the second quarter of this year, when this indicator reached €2,499 per square meter, €9 above the €2,490 of the second quarter of 2008. 10.6%.

Now, all that remains is for the price of resale housing in Catalonia to also exceed the bubble levels. This has not yet happened because the Catalan housing market registered higher price peaks in 2007 than in Spain as a whole, but it is expected that in the third quarter the housing price index will surpass the value it registered 18 years ago, the highest to date. In Barcelona, ​​the average appraised value of homes is currently €4,374.3, well above the 2008 peak of €3,950 per square meter, a figure surpassed in the last quarter of last year. "It's important to note that the price per square meter has increased by around 35% from 2005 to 2025, as has the value of mortgages per square meter, while inflation has risen by more than 50%. Therefore, prices haven't risen as much as the cost of living and inflation. The problem is prior savings," explains Òscar Gorgues, manager of the Barcelona Chamber of Urban Property, to ARA. Is this statistic representative?

The difference between this index, compiled quarterly by the National Statistics Institute (INE), and the average appraised value of homes, collected by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Agenda through its appraised value statistics, is that the former reflects the average price of completed sales, and therefore the real price of housing, while the latter is compiled by the Spanish Association of Value Analysis (AEV). In fact, sources within the Ministry clarified this Wednesday that the statistics refer to the average appraised value, not the sale price. According to data from the General Council of Notaries' notarial statistics on home sales, the price per square meter in August 2025, the latest published figure, was €1,727.99, well below the €2,153 of appraised properties. One possible explanation for this discrepancy between indicators is that appraisals reflect a lower value for the property, equivalent to the minimum price the seller would ask to sell, while the sale price has more room to rise because it may be the final figure after several upward negotiations. Furthermore, these ministry sources shared a calculation to provide more context for this data. If the record appraisal value reached in 2008 is updated according to the Consumer Price Index (CPI), it would be equivalent to approximately €2,883.1 per square meter today. "This means that, in real terms, the current appraisal value is well below the 2008 level," the ministry states.