The Spanish real estate market is holding firm in the face of economic and geopolitical challenges. The country’s economy is outperforming the European average, and investment and development prospects for 2023 are also viewed positively on the whole. These are the conclusions of a recent study by Deutsche Hypo – NORD/LB Real Estate Finance titled “Spain – real estate market defies uncertain market conditions”. The country study explores market trends in the individual asset classes of office, retail, hotel and logistics properties against the background of current uncertainties. Each segment’s prospects for the future and the risks and challenges associated with it are explained in this context.
After sliding deep into recession due to the effects of the pandemic, the Spanish economy gradually began to revive in 2021. The Spanish real estate investment market has also seen a slow recovery, with a mixed picture emerging for the individual asset classes due to the disparity of impact. The war in Ukraine and changes in market circumstances – historically high inflation, rising interest rates, energy crisis – have acted as a further damper on the economic recovery, however.
The study makes it clear that the Spanish real estate market can stand up to current economic and geopolitical challenges. Transaction volume was up last year by about ten percent compared to the previous year, surpassing the level last seen before the crisis. “The hotel property market has recovered from the coronavirus pandemic in particular, as international guests return. The retail property market is also still growing,” reports Maite Linares, head of the Madrid office.
Investment and development prospects for 2023 are viewed positively overall compared to other countries in Europe, although the market environment remains challenging. “We do expect transactions to slow in the first half of 2023 in particular. But we hope to see fresh momentum return to the investment market in the second half of the year,” Linares says.