Lifts help home prices stay high
The presence of a lift, the location, the size and the age of the property influence home prices
With or without lift? A recently-published real estate report about the property market in Madrid has revealed that lifts are some of the most important value-added elements for those who are considering buying a flat. Apartments with lift have seen their value fall less than apartments without it and their price has dropped less at the bursting of the real estate bubble (42.88%) than the price of apartments without lift (55.12%).
Homes with lift in Madrid cost 2,322 euros per sq.m; to buy an apartment without lift, instead, it is necessary to spend 1735 euros per sq.m. When the demand for housing solutions was higher, the difference in prices was smaller in comparison with the period when demand was lower. In total, the price drop experienced by the real estate market of Madrid amounts to 44.99% since the peak registered in the second half of 2006.
The survey shows some other interesting elements: the area where the property is located, its size and its age have a great influence on the price. Prosperidad and Centro are the most expensive areas in Madrid – real estate properties can be bought for 2,845 euros per sq.m. in Prosperidad and for 2,816 per sq.m. in Centro – Carabanchel and Villaverde are the cheapest ones – with prices from 1,696 and 1,433 euros per sq.m, respectively. The area of Ciudad Lineal has experienced the most evident year-on-year fluctuation in prices from the second half of 2010 to the second half of 2011 with a 26.80%-drop.
Until the second half of 2009, small apartments were much more demanded than big houses and their price was also higher. Today, large houses are more expensive than small flats; indeed, they cost 56 euros per sq.m. more.
Furthermore, the price of homes in good conditions is 8.95% higher than the price of houses that need renovation. The age of the property also influences its sales price. In 2011, houses that were less than 30 years old cost 1,964 euros per sq.m. The price of old houses has lowered by 50.20% since the beginning of the price drop.