Barcelona is called the pearl of Old Europe. Anyone who has visited the Catalan capital at least once, comes back here again. Many people wish to buy their own homes in Barcelona, if not to move there for permanent residence.
The city is divided into 10 districts, each of which consists of many blocks. Now in Barcelona there are 73 quarters. Each part offers its own atmosphere: there are a tourist and business centers, elite, residential districts, coastal zones.
For foreign buyers it is often difficult to determine the choice of location for future home or apartment in Barcelona. Manager of "Estate Barcelona" Pavel Maslov told us about the most attractive areas and the specific of work of the local real estate agencies.
Who buys property in Spain and Barcelona?
The national composition of the buyers of Spanish property in the Q1 of 2016
|
№
|
country
|
Percentage of total number of transactions
|
Percentage of transactions with foreigners
|
|
1.
|
UK
|
2,99%
|
22,35%
|
|
2.
|
France
|
1,09%
|
8,18%
|
|
3.
|
Germany
|
0,95%
|
7,14%
|
|
4.
|
Sweden
|
0,81%
|
6,09%
|
|
5.
|
Belgium
|
0,79%
|
5,95%
|
|
6.
|
Italy
|
0,61%
|
4,57%
|
|
7.
|
China
|
0,53%
|
3,98%
|
|
8.
|
Romania
|
0,53%
|
3,94%
|
|
9.
|
Russia
|
0,43%
|
3,25%
|
|
10.
|
Norway
|
0,37%
|
2,8%
|
|
11.
|
Morocco
|
0,34%
|
2,56%
|
|
12.
|
The Netherlands
|
0,3%
|
2,22%
|
|
13.
|
Ukraine
|
0,24%
|
1,8%
|
|
14.
|
Switzerland
|
0,19%
|
1,46%
|
|
15.
|
Algeria
|
0,18%
|
1,32%
|
|
16.
|
Ireland
|
0,17%
|
1,29%
|
|
17.
|
Poland
|
0,15%
|
1,13%
|
|
18.
|
Finland
|
0,14%
|
1,06%
|
|
19.
|
Bulgaria
|
0,13%
|
0,97%
|
|
20.
|
Other countries
|
2,4%
|
17,94%
|
|
|
Foreigners
|
13,36%
|
100%
|
|
|
The local population
|
86,64%
|
|
As is evident from the sales statistics, the share of foreign buyers of Spanish property is 13.36% of all the registered transactions, everything else was bought by local investors. Thus, the local population increasingly shapes the Spanish square meters. In these 13.36% of leading positions are occupied by the British, Germans, French, Swedes and Belgians. Followed by citizens of Italy, China, Romania, Russia and Norway.
If we talk about Spanish property in general and real estate in Barcelona in particular, there is a big difference in objects that are chosen by representatives of European and Russian speaking markets.
Based on our years of practice, I can say that citizens of CIS countries prefer to purchase a house in 3 zones of Barcelona:
1. The sea
2. City center
3. The upper areas.
The coastal districts
The beaches are within walking distance here, there are parks, recreation zones. At the same time the city center can be reached in the shortest possible time.
Diagonal Mar is a modern district close to the sea. The homes here are new, they were built 10-15 years ago. The infrastructure is very developed. In the residential closed complexes there are swimming pools, gymnasiums, 24h security. But the prices here are quite high — from €6,000 per m2.
Poblenou literally translates as "New city". The district appeared in the 17th century. In the 19th century Poblenou was an industrial area, but later (by the middle of the last century), all manufacturing was transferred to other parts of the city. During the preparation for the Olympics, the district was completely modernized. In Poblenou there is the Central city Park, and 2 beaches - Marbella and Bogatell.
At the moment the basis of the housing stock consists of modern closed residential complexes near the sea. Price spread in Poblenou is significant — the cost of housing ranges between €350 000 and €1 mln.
Central areas
Eixample and Gracia are a great option for those who want to live in the heart of Barcelona.
Almost all the buildings in Barcelona have historical value. Traditionally, there live the representatives of the upper classes. Another feature is that all the streets in the Eixample, except the Diagonal, intersect at right angles. The advantage of this popular area is the great transport accessibility. Note also that old buildings of Eixample has high ceilings. On the left side of area there are bars, restaurants, clubs at almost every turn, so there is always a lot of young people.
In Gracia, even though it is located in Central Barcelona, there are few tourists — you will be able to evaluate how live Catalans. The audience is bright, bohemian, creative. The streets constantly hosts various cultural events from concerts and exhibitions, up to the Grand festival "Fiesta Mayor".
The lack of tourist bustle, developed infrastructure, proximity to downtown are the main advantages of Gracia. The demand for housing is quite high, mainly are sold small apartment in the homes of "middle-aged". Prices start from €3,000 per square meter. The spacious apartments are rare and cost much more.
Upper areas (Zona Alta)
The most expensive and prestigious properties for sale are in the so-called Zona Alta. Zona Alta consists of Sarria-Sant Gervasi and the district of Pedralbes. Here for sale are offered spacious houses with land, pools, gardens. The price per square meter is from €4,500. Some of the mansions have an area of 1,500 or even 2,500 m2.
16% of the population of Pedralbes are foreigners, namely: wealthy Germans, French, Italians. There are international schools, business schools, Royal tennis club, the Royal Polo club and the former residence of the Spanish monarch.
What do the customers from the CIS countries choose?
These three zones — the sea, the center and upper areas are the most popular among customers from countries of the former USSR. The Gothic quarter is attractive from the point of view of commercial investment, but to live in an atmosphere of constant inflow of tourists, to deal with "heterogeneous structure of tenants", is not so nice for those who like a comfortable and peaceful life.
Most of the housing in Diagonal Mar or Poblenou are closed residential complexes close to the sea, including apartments with view on the upper floors. Housing of this type gives a sense of security, prestige.
Many of the buyers avoid densely populated areas (especially if neighbors are migrants) or "tight" buildings. For example, in the district of Sant Andreu person comes into the apartment and sees opposite neighbor 5 meters from his apartment (vis-à-vis).
The most popular among Russian-speaking clients properties are situated by the sea, apartments with 2 or 3 bedrooms with an area of 100 — 120 m2. On the coast (Costa Brava, Costa Maresme) houses are sold also well. As for price range, now the number of queries with a budget of €500,000 increased. This is due to the ability to obtain the "Golden visa" on the basis of investment.
Learn more about the possibilities of obtaining a residence permit in Spain through the purchase of housing, see the second part of the article.
What do Europeans buy?
If the representatives of the Russian-speaking market prefer more or less the capital housing, where you can come from time to time or to live permanently, Europeans while choosing a property have slightly different approach. The market in Spain is for them more close and clear. Basically, they buy a small apartment, which can later be used as a cottage or a second residence. Barcelona is 150 km from the border with France, so buying a home in Spain for the French equivalent to the acquisition of a private hotel room.
Buyers from the CIS sometimes are shocked, seeing as the French buy dozens of a tiny studio apartments or 1 bedroom apartments in nearby Lloret de Mar, in a complex built 40-50 years ago. The same principle of housing in Spain and Barcelona is chosen by many Europeans.
Commercial property
The maximum profit can be received from the premises, located near the tourist sites of Barcelona such as the Gothic quarter. It is a real cultural center of the city, its heart is the magnificent Cathedral. In the Gothic quarter there are a lot of parks, shops, restaurants, bars, dance clubs. Nightlife is very busy, during the day it is also quite noisy here.
The profitability of commercial real estate depends on the project, in average it’s 7-%. This is a pretty good indicator, given that the Euribor is now at a historic low. Interest rates on mortgages are minimal, including for foreigners.
The specifics of the real estate agencies in Spain
When choosing residential or commercial property in Barcelona or any other city a lot depends on the agency chosen by the client. First, on the market now there is a lot of companies-intermediaries. Second, there are firms representing sellers of real estate (developers, owners, banks), and there are companies focused on buyers.
The goal of buyer is to find a suitable option and purchase it for a minimal amount, and the interest of the seller is to implement his object for a maximum price. Accordingly, in the first case, you are unlikely to obtain the object by correct price, because the agent receives a commission from the seller. Customer-oriented agents, on the contrary, are interested in buying the best object for the buyer.
Between these two approaches there is a fundamental difference — you will feel it not only when processing the transaction, but at the stage of selection, as well as during after-sales service. When selecting an object, the seller's agent will offer you only those objects that exist in his catalog. If you are working with a customer-oriented agency, its employees do not stop only at its base. When there is no suitable offer in their catalog, they continue their search elsewhere, as they are interested not in how to implement available on their website offers but to meet the needs and wishes of the client.
It is also very important for the agency to have the Spanish staff. Here friendly and family ties are widely developed, so the best results are achieved by those companies, which have local staff.
Text – Alena Eliseeva, ee24
Photocredit Depositphotos.com
For assistance in the preparation of materials about the Spanish real estate we thank the staff of "Estate Barcelona":
Pavel Maslov, the managing Director of the company;
Rafael Pereyra Luna, head of legal Department.