Spanish Minister Says Fewer Than 700,000 Homes Are Unsold

Spain has fewer than 700,000 unsold homes after the market collapsed in 2008, the Transport and Development Ministry said.

About 61 percent of those are in coastal areas, Deputy Minister for Housing Beatriz Corredor said at a press conference in London today. Prices in seaside areas have fallen as much as 40 percent from the peak, while on average prices have declined 20 percent in real terms, said Development Minister Jose Blanco, whose remit includes housing.

The estimate of homes left over from the construction boom compares with the Bank of Spain’s figure of as many as 1.1 million. Blanco is in London to promote Spain’s economy and housing market to investors. He will deliver the same message at meetings in France, Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Russia.

Blanco said lenders that have taken foreclosed real estate onto their books are valuing homes “fairly,” at market prices. Valuing land “may be more problematic,” he said.

Spain built 675,000 homes a year from 1997 to 2006, more than France, Germany and the U.K. combined, according to a report by a unit of Spanish savings bank Cajamar.

 

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