The eternal doubt about whether it is a good time to buy a house is never resolved, because subjective and personal factors always play a role. However, with the data on the table and knowing a little about how the sector has evolved in other cycles, you can know whether the scenario is more suitable for jumping into the pool of home purchases or not. According to a panel of experts consulted by idealista/news, now would be a good time to buy a house because there is a very active demand and a shortage of supply, so if an opportunity arises it is better not to wait on improvements in mortgage conditions, because there is a risk that you will lose them. “If you like it, it’s time to buy,” say some industry professionals interviewed.
The sector has developed favorably in the first months of 2024. According to Carlos de Almeida, Commercial Director of New Construction in Spain at CBRE, “Significant purchasing activity is observed during the first quarter of the year, and in turn the launch of new residential projects across the country. All this means that demand remains very active.”
“At the start of the year, we expected housing demand to go from less to more, gaining momentum as mortgage rate cuts were confirmed and economic growth reactivated. In concrete terms, we expected a decrease in the number of transactions of approximately 11% in 2024, with 566,000 homes being sold. However, data from the first months of the year shows that demand is slightly more dynamic than we initially expected,” says Almeida.
Pelayo Barroso, national director of Savills Research, has a similar view: “demand has developed very positively. It’s growing about 10% compared to the same period last year, which was a very good year in terms of revenue. However, promotional activities remain very poor. At the beginning of the year we thought it would be a good year, but more in line with 2023. We are surprised by the strength of demand, beyond expectations,” he says.
Good time to buy a house.
Buying a house to live in does not have to be a decision dictated by economic and circumstance-related factors of the moment. It is a decision that must be motivated by personal factors, such as job stability, ability to save or vital necessity. “That is why we always recommend making these decisions outside the specific evaluation of the price of the house,” says Antonio de la Fuente, Managing Director of Corporate Finance at Colliers.
CBRE is a little more categorical in considering whether or not they should buy: “It is without a doubt a good time to buy, there is a very active demand and a shortage of supply. This has been the usual trend lately and will not change. Therefore, it is normal that prices will continue to rise in the coming months.”
François Carrierre, CEO of Coldwell Banker Spain, is even more optimistic: “Except for the 2008 crisis, it has always been a good time to buy property. Right now there is some question whether you should buy now or wait for rates to drop, but if you wait it may be at a higher price,” he says.
“Whether we are talking about purchasing for a home or as an investment, there is no doubt that, despite the high rates, this is a good time to buy. Firstly, because, as we have indicated, supply is only decreasing and with prices maintaining this upward trend, in the hypothetical case that this supposed drop in interest rates will occur in the second half of the year, the lack of housing and easy access to a mortgage in better conditions will not help prices fall, on the contrary,” says Jorge Henriquez of the RE/MAX group.
