Madrid secures spot as investment capital with boost to international sales

Madrid’s growing status as a major European investment capital has been given a further boost with a 311% increase in sales value.

According to new figures from leading real estate agency Lucas Fox, the average price of a property sold by the Madrid-based firm was €1.4 million, more than double that of the average sales price in 2016.

Lucas Fox also announced a 92% jump in the number of sales transactions, with 60% of sales were to foreigners, with Latin Americans accounting for just under half of all international sales. The other foreign sales were split among French, British, Scandinavian, Australian and Middle Eastern buyers.

According to the Spanish property portal Idealista, prices in the city centre increased by 22%, while in the desirable districts of Chamberí and Salamanca prices rose by 19% last year, According to property-focused business school El Instituto de Práctica Empresarial (EPE), the trend looks set to continue in 2018, with prices predicted to rise by 11%.

“Madrid is where it’s at right now. The buzz around the city in the last 12 months is palpable." explains Lucas Fox Director of Operations Rod Jamieson "Each week we are seeing exciting new constructions pop up across the city, whether it be an edgy real estate project or a state-of-the-art food mall, Madrid seems to have its finger on the pulse.

“The city generates almost 20% of the country’s GDP – this impressive growth rate coupled with its competitive tax rates has made the Spanish capital an extremely attractive destination for property investors looking for new opportunities, particularly in districts which had stagnated in the crisis and are now regenerating.”

Among the new projects and initiatives planned in Madrid over the next few years are the creation of a fifth tower in the business district of Chamartín, which will house the IE business school among other major companies, the construction of a Four Seasons hotel in the central district of Sol as well as the pedestrianisation of the surrounding streets.

The area surrounding the Bernabeu Stadium is also getting a facelift and along with it, the creation of a new luxury hotel within the stadium itself. For those concerned about Madrid’s distance to a beach, Europe’s largest artificial beach and watersports centre will be ready in 3 years and will be just half an hour drive from the Spanish capital.

Official figures from the Spanish Institute of Statistics (INE) also make for encouraging reading, showing the number of property sales in the first eleven months of 2017 growing by 20% compared to the same period in 2016.

The Institute of Statistics also show that over 15,000 new homes were sold in the Community of Madrid in the first eleven months of 2017, an annual increase of 20% compared to the same period in 2016. The quantity of new homes sold in 2017 is still 46% below the equivalent figure in the first eleven months of the peak during 2007.