Price signals and levels of sales activity in the second half of 2012 suggest that 2013 will see continued busy trading in the Barcelona real estate market.

1. BARCELONA REAL ESTATE MARKET
Q3 & Q4 2012
Informed buyers • A perceived bottoming out of
residential property sales prices.
snap up the best on offer. The second
half of 2012 saw the development
of Barcelona residen- of rental yields on Barcelona city
tial property consider “In 2012, we saw a number of our
investor clients who had been observing
prime residential properties that are
competitive internationally. Combined
that the market has the market for the last few years with proposed changes to Spanish law
starting to buy up discounted properties to provide residency permits to non-
bottomed out in prime areas of Barcelona city. This EU property owners, we expect these
demonstrates that informed buyers of factors to generate much more foreign
Alex Vaughan
Director and Co-Founder Barcelona residential property consider buyer interest in Barcelona in the
Lucas Fox that the market has bottomed out,” said coming year,” Vaughan said.
Alex Vaughan, Lucas Fox Director.
BARCELONA REAL ESTATE “We expect this trend to continue in PROPERTY TRANSACTIONS
MARKET: SUMMARY 2013 and for property asking prices to fall
in line with actual sales prices. As more A new wave of discounted properties
Price signals and levels of sales activity properties come to market from local coming onto the market helped
in the second half of 2012 suggest that owners and banks, foreign buyers will reactivate the Barcelona and Spanish
2013 will see continued busy trading in
the Barcelona real estate market.
2012 saw some big factors in the
Barcelona real estate market:
• A higher volume of property sales
transactions building from the summer
months as confidence returned to the
* Source: Ine.es
market
• Ongoing increases in foreign
visitors looking for short term rental
accommodation throughout the year
Urban Property Transfers (Sales of Free Housing Stock) – Barcelona and Spain: 2012
BARCELONA REAL ESTATE MARKET Q3 & Q4 2012 www.lucasfox.com

2. property markets in the second and BARCELONA PROPERTY Barcelona 2011 Barcelona 2012
third quarters of 2012. Lucas Fox sold at SALES PRICES 4000
least three times as many properties in
3500
Q3 and Q4 of 2012 than in the previous 2012 may be the year that Barcelona
twelve months. property made its final moves towards
3000
a bottoming of market sales prices.
According to the official figures property While the first half of 2013 may see 2500
some price adjustments, the increased
sales transactions were at the highest
sales transactions in mid-2012 suggest
volume level in Q3 2012, peaking with 2000
that foreign buyers looking for the best Jan Mar May Jul Sept Nov
‘000
2269 sales in July and staying above properties were not willing to wait
Feb Apr Jun Aug Oct Dec
2000 transactions each month of that any longer before taking advantage of
quarter. Despite some drop off in trading market opportunities.
at the start of the fourth quarter, sales Barcelona Airport Arrivals (‘000):
2011 – 2012
transactions began to climb again in Barcelona average property sales price Source: Aena.es
October and November 2012 (the latest at the end of 2012 came in at €3,217 per
month for which data is currently square metre.
available), with signs that the year was
ending with increased sales activity. Pedralbes / Les Corts, continued its Barcelona 2011 Barcelona 2012
This has been the experience at Lucas reign as the district with the highest
160
Fox, where buyers have been keen to property prices, reflecting its exclusive
complete sales transactions before the status as a high-end business, shopping 120
end of the 2012 tax year. and leisure district, ending the year at
€4,077 per square metre. 80
40
0
Jan Mar May Jul Sept Nov
Feb Apr Jun Aug Oct Dec
Foreign residents staying in holiday
apartments in Catalonia (‘000): 2011
and 2012 / Source: Ine.es
The biggest price adjustments between
the end of 2011 and the end of 2012
were in Eixample, Gracia and Sarria
Sant-Gervasi, with these districts
recording reductions on 2011 prices of
€382, €523 and €534 per square metre
Barcelona Property Average Sales Prices (Average and by District): 2010 – 2012 / Source: idealista.com
respectively.
“In our opinion central Barcelona
property prices reflect excellent value
when compared with the prices of
€ per m2
other European capitals” commented
Lucas Fox Director and co-founder
Stijn Teeuwen. “The lifestyle factors
remain as compelling as ever and we
are gradually reaching a point where
Barcelona property can once again
be classified as a very good medium
term investment. It is clear that a
further adjustment is required in some
property asking prices to
bring them in line with real sales
prices but we expect this to happen
Barcelona Rental Property Prices (Average and By District): 2010 - 2012 / Source: idealista.com
through 2013”.
BARCELONA REAL ESTATE MARKET Q3 & Q4 2012 www.lucasfox.com

3. Foreign readers visiting Lucas Fox website pages for Barcelona properties Q2 & Q3 2012
Source: Lucas Fox Google Analytics data
BARCELONA RENTAL MARKET indicators help investors determine FOREIGN INVESTMENT
the potential yield that can be
Barcelona average rental prices generated from purchasing Barcelona Foreign residents invested heavily in
dropped by a fifth of a Euro in most apartments primarily for use as tourist Catalonian property (which includes
districts in the second half of 2012, accommodation. Barcelona) in the first three quarters of
falling from an average of €11.30 per 2012, accounting for 20.6% of all foreign
square metre at the end of Q2 to an Catalonia (including Barcelona) real estate investment across Spain.
average of €10.90 per square metre received the most foreign tourist visits In 2012, Lucas Fox facilitated foreign
at year’s end. The districts of Horta in all of Spain, accounting for 25% of investment
Guinardó, Sant Andreu and Ciutat Vella all foreign tourist arrivals in 2012, and sales transactions totalling around
held steadiest during the second half increasing its international visitor €50 million.
off 2012. Ciutat Vella ended the year numbers by 9.9% over 2011 figures,
maintaining its mid-year average rental with close to 14.5 million foreign As in the first quarters of 2012, Q3
price of €12.40 per square metre. visitor arrivals. and Q4 saw continuing high levels of
demand from Swiss and Russian clients.
Between March and October, Barcelona The other most important group was
A study by real estate portal Idealista continued to see monthly increases French clients, motivated by tax hikes
- released in November 2012 - showed on airport arrivals compared with the in France. The remainder of the interest
gross rental yields in Barcelona months in 2011. Overall, to the end of was split between traditional Northern
(4.1%) are stronger than in the December 2012, airport arrivals were European client groups with increasing
property markets of London (3.4%) 2.2% higher than in 2011. demand from emerging markets such
and Paris (3%). as China, India and Latin America.
More foreign residents stayed in
SHORT-TERM RENTAL DEMAND holiday apartments every month of 2012 visitor numbers to the Lucas
2012 than in comparative months Fox website increased significantly
Barcelona airport arrivals and the in 2011. While figures are for all of compared to 2011, with 35% more
numbers of foreign travellers staying in Catalonia, the majority of holiday visitors reviewing Barcelona properties
holiday apartments are good indicators apartments are located in Barcelona on our webpages. The majority of our
of demand for short-term rental city. In Q3 2012, over 120,000 foreign international website visitors were
accommodation in Barcelona. These residents stayed in holiday apartments from the UK, United States, France,
each month. Russia and Germany.
BARCELONA REAL ESTATE MARKET Q3 & Q4 2012 www.lucasfox.com

4. LUCAS FOX ANALYSIS international buyer interest in Barcelona The biggest potential game changer
residential and commercial property. could be the proposal to grant residency
AND PREDICTIONS
to non-EU buyers who invest in
As in 2012, the main demand will be for residential property in Spain. If this
All the evidence suggests that the prime properties in the best locations, expected law change is passed in early
positive market developments that either in the city centre or along the 2013, we anticipate that it will generate
we saw in the last quarters of 2012 will coastline to the north and south of the huge demand from wealthy buyers
continue into 2013. The combination of city. We expect there to be continuing located in Russia, India, Africa and Asia.
increased confidence in the Eurozone demand for properties to renovate:
and Spain, heavily discounted property with interest in apartments, houses and
prices, improving rental yields, and the entire buildings, as buyers recognise
proposed changes to Spanish residency that very good opportunities exist to
laws look set to continue driving which they can add value.
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APARTMENT PENTHOUSE LUXURY APARTMENT
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latest news on the Barcelona Director and Director and
Co-Founder Co-Founder
real estate market. Lucas Fox Lucas Fox www.lucasfox.com
BARCELONA REAL ESTATE MARKET Q3 & Q4 2012 www.lucasfox.com