Malaga was second-placed province in Spain to see new housing stock reduced the most in 2022

Malaga was the second-placed province in Spain in which the stock of new housing fell the most in 2022, according to newly released figures.

The supply of new properties almost halved, by 46%, to 2,483 units from 4,602 a year earlier, the latest official data showed. Malaga is only surpassed by Huelva which recorded a 64.86% drop. In third place was Álava, with a reduction of around 20% in 2022.

In Andalucía, the reduction in stock was 6.14% last year, with a drop from around 64,000 properties to below 60,000. Spain as a whole, did not even record a 1% drop, falling from 448,809 to 444,546 dwellings.

Analysts and the property development sector use these figures to explain why in Malaga, contrary to what is happening in Spain, sales of new homes are falling more than those of used homes.

According to the latest figures from Spain's INE national statistics institute, for the month of April, the fall in sales of new-build properties was 31% year-on-year, compared to the 16% drop in sales of used homes. Meanwhile, throughout Spain, sales involving new homes fell by 4.2%, less than half of those involving used homes.

The Malaga property market has completely turned upside down in the past decade. If now, in Andalucía, it is second from the bottom in volume of supply, then ten years ago, in 2012, it was in second place, but in the lead, with 17,103 units, just below Almeria, where the stock was close to 24,000 homes.

The best way to measure how strong the local property market is at a time when the supply of new housing is scarce is to analyse how the pre-sales of homes under construction are evolving. Sources from the Malaga property development association pointed out that sales are developing at the same rate as last year, and not only in Malaga city, but also on the east and west coasts of the province, as well as throughout Andalucía.

There has been a reduction in the number of visits, they added, which suggests a drop in buyer interest, but they said that the proportion of visits that result in purchases is now higher; fewer visits, but a higher degree of conversion. Developers also said that their developments are receiving fewer visits, but claim that the conversion into purchases is higher than before.

The market also needs to pay attention to another phenomenon that is happening, sources pointed out. According to the latest statistics from the Ministry of Transport, the price of land fell by 3.9% in the first quarter of this year in Malaga, to 251.4 euros per square metre, a fall that in quarterly comparison was close to 10%. It means the price of land in Malaga is now the most expensive in Andalucía.