In this quarter of the year, there is usually a higher volume of travel to holiday destinations and, with this, interest in the purchase of second homes grows. What are the forecasts for sales and demand for holiday homes? Who tends to buy this type of residence and where?
After two years (2020-2021), when sales of second homes plummeted, Vicente Soler, at CLF Group, predicts that a recovery in the market is expected over the next few years. «The end of the Covid restrictions is the main cause. Spain is also one of the major centres of international investment.
He also specifies that the rise in interest rates will not particularly affect this market, as the buyer profile for this type of property tends to have a medium-high economic capacity and «is not as influenced by banking conditions as the buyer of a primary residence who buys out of necessity and not on a whim».
For its part, the real estate network Comprarcasa puts the increase in demand for second homes for own use at 50%. This growth has been occurring since mid-February, with the reopening of hotel establishments and the reactivation of Imserso trips, and will continue to boom until December, «making 2022 the year of the recovery of the pent-up demand that could not formalise its operations during 2021».
Ernesto Ferrer-Bonsoms, director of Real Estate at Intrum Spain and business director at Solvia, believes that the residential market is now experiencing significant growth. According to the latest data from the National Institute of Statistics, a total of 53,623 sales were registered last February, a monthly figure that has not been seen since April 2008. «A trend that is also being followed by the holiday home market, which is expected to continue to rise for several reasons, among them, the increased interest in this type of property for own use».
When is the best time to buy a holiday home?
Historically, this type of property is usually bought when the good weather starts. This is, according to Grocasa, from Easter to late summer and early autumn. «This is logically due to the weather. National and international buyers are looking for sun and beach».
The expert comments that, in the French Alps for example, or without going any further, in the Pyrenees, the highest volume of sales are recorded in the winter months, as this profile of buyer, bets and surely likes more mountain sports, fresh air, snow, etc.
Solvia is already seeing an upturn in this sector thanks to the excellent opportunities currently available in the market, «which will help us to close the summer with very good sales figures».
Where this type of property is being bought
At Comprarcasa they see a growth where the Costa Blanca stands out with Benidorm at the head, where the real estate network has doubled the number of monthly transactions compared to 2021. Followed by the city of Alicante, demand is concentrated in Torrevieja, Santa Pola and the Costa del Sol, with Marbella, Malaga Costa and Benalmadena leading the transactions.
The most dynamic areas are always Andalusia, Valencia, the Balearic Islands, the Canary Islands and Catalonia, as Albert Egea states.
Solvia detects an increase in demand in provinces such as Barcelona, Tarragona, Alicante, Valencia, Malaga and Murcia.
