The escalation of war in Ukraine is shaking Europe. In Spain, the economy is being impacted by rising energy prices and market instability. However, housing is currently presented as a safe haven for investors, considered a stable and safe bet in the face of stock market fluctuations.
It is a fact that the year has started with the best level of home sales and purchases recorded in January since the 2008 boom, with a total of 52,684 transactions. Forecasts indicate that the boom in demand will continue throughout the year, with prices up 6%.
The possibility of a real estate bubble is ruled out, since there is no debt as in the previous crisis, but rather savings accumulated during the pandemic by Spanish families of almost 75,000 million euros.
At this point in the market, large companies such as El Corte Inglés, the Swiss bank Pictet and Lighthouse Properties are launching their operations, which means the reactivation of sales and purchases in Spain after the strong impact of Covid.
The war is exacerbating the escalation of inflation, which is threatening access to the housing market among young people. However, in the New York luxury sector, we see how possibilities are opening up because Russian oligarchs are putting their mansions on sale trying to avoid new sanctions.
In Spain, it remains to be seen whether the CPI affects rents, which for the moment are on a downward trend compared to 2021 (1% decrease in the average year-on-year price in February according to data from Fotocasa). As for the possible departure of Russian investors from our country, there is absolute silence in luxury real estate companies, although the impact of the war conflict is recognized outside the registers. For the time being, the Government has stated that several properties have been seized from Russian fortunes.