If among your purposes for next year is to change your house and your want to live in Barcelona, it is possible that one of the questions that arise is that one: is it better to buy or to rent a house? And it is not a trivial matter since both options have their advantages and disadvantages. We want review them with you and, hopefully, we will help you to make a decision.
The first thing to keep in mind is your budget. According to a recent survey by the real estate website Idealista, 75% of the rental properties in the Spanish capitals are more than 500 euros per month, and the price of most of the rental properties (44.5%) range from 500 to 1,000 euros. In the other hand, the rental between 1,000 and 1,500 euros have gone from representing 8% in 2013 to 13.3% at the present time and there is a 15.2% of the total of the rental housing which offers a price higher than 1,500 euros. Barcelona is one of the most expensive cities in Spain when it comes to renting a home, with only 0.1% of rental homes with prices below 300 €. It’s good to know.
Why should you buy a house?
Real estate experts agree that this year has been one of the most favorable –if not the most– over the last few years. Prices have been stabilizing in the real estate market, mortgages are again attractive and the concession criteria have been relaxed in order to retain customers and revive the sector. Also the Euribor reached its lowest level after falling to -0.008% (in 2005 it reached 5.5 percentage points) although the European Institute of Monetary Markets will present a new index that will come into effect the next summer.
However, the price that has been declining, will gradually increase in a percentage that some experts predict up to 25% for new building in large cities, such as Barcelona, so if the option to buy has more weight in your balance of decisions, it may be the time to do it so since you are facing a good opportunity in financial terms. Once the decision is made, prospective homeowners should also consider the option of buying a new or second-hand home, where the market is also very attractive with a large offer of almost new properties. And, above all, you have to think that a house is a property that is always revalued over time, that it can be reformed based on the interests of the owner and that can be rented.
Why should you rent a house?
Although the main option in Spain is still to buy, there are still many people who do not consider the purchase of a house either because they do not meet the economic conditions necessary to get a mortgage or because they do not want to commit to a real estate investment and rather to have more freedom in case of unforeseen events. To rent a house is, then the ideal option. In addition, one of the advantages of renting is that it allows you to choose your place of residence in a more flexible way than with the purchase and if you don’t like it, you can move easier than if the house is yours.
Then: do you want to live in the center of Barcelona?
Whatever your decision is, renting or buying a house, we can help you. Casc Antic BCN is a real estate company specialized in the old town of Barcelona, with a high degree of knowledge of the characteristics of the different districts of Raval, Gótico, Borne and Barceloneta, which allows us to make correct valuations and offer the client the real estate that we manage. Let’s talk!
