The combination of different series of data published by the Ministry of Housing has made it possible to construct Graph 1, shown below, from which interesting conclusions can be drawn about the new housing market in the province of Malaga. This graph shows the homes initiated (in the year in which construction began), home completions, the stock of new homes (unsold) and the percentage of new homes sales compared to new builts completions. The data on homes initiated and completions are superimposed so that you can see in each year's bar whether more homes were initiated than were completed (the top of the bar will be red) or vice versa (in which case the top of the bar will be blue).
GRÁFICO 2 - NÚMERO DE VIVIENDAS VENDIDAS EN BEHAHAVÍS 2º TRIMESTRE 2021
Analyzing the graph, the first thing that becomes clear is that the stock of new homes is at an all-time low and that the numbers for this upward cycle, from 2015 to 2021, are at least four times lower in terms of new construction than those of the other cycle, from 2000 to 2008. This lack of stock and the increase in demand for this product, which in terms of design and quality differs greatly from what was finished in the previous upward cycle, is what is causing the prices of new built units to be much higher than the prices of second-hand units.
Finally, it is very interesting to observe the evolution of the curve represented in green that shows the percentage of new units sold with respect to that which is being completed. Between 2004 and 2010 it can be seen that the market was not able to absorb the amount of units that were being completed (less than 50% of what was completed was sold) and that, to a certain extent, led to the situation we all know. However, between 2015 and 2021 and with some slight lag, more new built homes are sold than the ones that are completed, which favors real estate developments and prices remain high for this type of product.