"Speculative home purchases are very low." This was the emphatic statement made on Tuesday by José Alberto Marín, Dean of the College of Notaries of Catalonia, following the presentation of the New Statistical Portal for NotariesThis free online tool provides "reliable" information on the housing market, according to the dean, because "all sales go through a notary." For Marín, the housing problem in Catalonia stems from two fronts: a lack of supply—because there is no new construction—and a lack of efficiency in administrative procedures, especially delays in granting building permits by local councils. These grievances are compounded by public transportation problems, particularly with commuter rail, which makes it more difficult for people to move to the suburbs, where prices are much lower than in the city of Barcelona.

Móra d'Ebre is the cheapest Catalan municipality to buy a home, according to a ranking compiled by the Idealista portal. The price per square meter in this municipality in the Ribera d'Ebre region is €747, while the average in Catalonia is €2,739. This means the price per square meter in Móra d'Ebre is 73% below the Catalan average. However, housing prices in Catalonia are among the highest in Spain, according to this portal, surpassed only by the Community of Madrid, at €4,491 per square meter, and the Basque Country, at €3,376. According to the ranking, Catalonia has no municipalities among the 20 cheapest in Spain. The cheapest municipality in Spain to buy a home is located in the province of Ciudad Real. Specifically, Almadén has the most affordable square meter, with home sellers in the municipality asking an average of 335 euros/m²²The podium of the three most affordable municipalities is completed by two more from Ciudad Real: Almodóvar del Campo, where the price per square meter is €427, and Socuéllamos, where it reaches €460. In fourth place is Leiro in Ourense, Galicia (€478/m²).²) followed very closely by Villacañas in Toledo (479 euros/m²) to close the top 5.

Renting an apartment is still hell (as is buying it, no doubt). Everyone knows it, and it's a prophecy, as the poet would say. Attempts to rein in prices are starting to work, but only halfway. And with dysfunctions. It's more than likely that without price caps and tense zones, things would be worse. But the improvement is slight and presents contradictions. Today we're explaining one that has gone unnoticed until now, because it's not obvious, and that shows the complexity of the situation when it comes to prices actually falling, or at least not rising.

Barcelona and Madrid have been suffering from a housing bubble for two years, according to a new study. The causes include several factors, from population growth due to the arrival of immigration and the lack of public and private housing construction to the cheapening of credit and the entry of speculative investors.

That access to housing remains almost a utopia for a large part of the population, even though it is recognized as a right under Article 47 of the Constitution, is evident. Buying and selling is difficult, and renting for primary residences is especially expensive, with increases far above salaries and a very limited supply. That's why Catalonia, which had already planned to contain rents received by homeowners during the previous term, was the first to apply the caps in so-called stressed areas, as provided for in the housing law that the PSOE-Sumar coalition government managed to pass almost two years ago.

Consumer price index (CPI) in Catalonia rose 10.2% in August compared to the same month last year, but moderated one tenth compared to July, when it registered a 10.3% increase, according to data published this Tuesday by the Spanish National Statistics Institute (INE). The increase remains driven, above all, by the price of electricity, gas and fuel. Also noteworthy is the annual rise in the price of food, which this year is 13.8% more expensive than last year. This is the highest increase since records began, in January 1994.

Buying a home and renting it out is more profitable than having the money in the bank with negative interest rate. But the number of housing investors in Spain has fallen during the first half of this year, especially in the city of Barcelona, according to the latest study of the housing market of the Universitat Pompeu Fabra and the company Tecnocasa, coordinated by Professor of Economics at the UPF José García Montalvo.

The district of Pedralbes is the area of Barcelona with the highest housing prices, according to a study made by the real estate agents Engels & Völkers, which has also prepared the ranking of the most expensive streets. A ranking that leads the Avinguda Pearson, in Pedralbes, with a price of over €10,000 per square metre. In second place is Passeig de Gràcia, in the Eixample, with €7,500 per square metre, and in third place is Carrer Bosch i Gimpera, also in Pedralbes.