MADRID, 18 Oct. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The aggregate turnover of the forty main Spanish real estate companies was 11,570 million euros in 2021, a figure that was 27.6% higher than that recorded in 2020, according to the sector observatory DBK de Informa (subsidiary of Cesce).

Once the negative impact of the pandemic was overcome, the real estate sector recovered its upward trend, with a strong rebound in investment in a context of high liquidity and low interest rates, although this situation has already been reversed in 2022.

Regarding the value of the production of the construction sector in the housing segment, it exceeded 66,000 million euros in 2021. The completion of work started before the pandemic led to an 8.2% increase in the number of completed homes, while housing starts increased by 28.5%.

On the demand side, low interest rates and high liquidity boosted purchase and sale transactions by 38.3%.

As for the value of the production of the construction sector in the segment of other buildings and constructions, it grew by 8.1% in 2021, to 55,900 million, recovering part of the activity lost in 2020.

The non-residential real estate market also performed well, highlighting the reactivation of the office segment and investments in logistics and tourist spaces, among others.

In January 2021, more than 194,000 companies were registered in the headings corresponding to the real estate sector of the National Classification of Economic Activities (CNAE), a figure slightly lower than that recorded a year earlier.

The sector presents a high atomization of supply, with a high number of small companies. 95% have less than three employees (including companies without employees) and only a hundred companies have 50 workers or more on the workforce.

Despite the fact that in the first half of 2022 the sector maintained a good pace of investment, the outlook now points to a significant slowdown in real estate activity, given the deterioration of the economic context, the rise in interest rates, the growth of production costs and the loss of purchasing power in the face of escalating inflation.