Spain - Record House Building in 2005

The Architects Association of Spain (Colegio de Arquitectos) forecasts 800,000 housing starts during 2005, a new all-time record and 15% more than 2004. At this level of annual housing starts Spain is building the same number of properties as the UK, France and Germany combined.

The Architects Association points out that demand for new housing in Spain stands at around 300,000 to 350,000 properties annually, whilst new housing starts have been running at over 600,000 units since 2001. Many experts believe that amateur property investors taking advantage of ridiculously low interest rates (and negative real interest rates) have been soaking up the excess construction.