Monapart in La Vanguardia: Which is better, living in the city or in the suburbs?
José Luis Echeverría, founding partner of Monapart, analyses the reasons for this trend and gives clues as to its possible continuation once the effects of the pandemic have subsided.
Living in the suburbs has gone from being an alternative to being considered as a first choice for those who prioritise contact with nature and access to more affordable housing than in the city. Why does everyone want to move away from Barcelona? The pandemic situation has changed people's relationship with their homes. Preferences and needs have changed and more and more people are moving away from the big cities in search of homes with open spaces, terraces and gardens.
Living in the city or in the suburbs, which is better? | 28/10/2021 | Natàlia Pastor (La Vanguardia)
The pandemic situation has changed people's relationship with their homes. Preferences and needs have changed and more and more people are moving away from the big cities in search of homes with open spaces, terraces and gardens.
This phenomenon was already noticeable in the censuses of many towns that welcomed as neighbours those who had a second home, but the interest in living outside the city has gone further and has been noted in the search engines of real estate portals.
Buying a house in the suburbs
According to Francesc Boya, Secretary General for the Demographic Challenge, since the outbreak of the pandemic, more than 100,000 Spaniards have left the cities for the suburbs. One of the reasons for this rural exodus is the consolidation of teleworking. The pandemic has encouraged this practice in many companies, allowing employees to avoid having to travel to the offices, which are often located in the centres of large cities.
"Our view is that this is a post-traumatic effect of the situation resulting from the pandemic, although for many the reason for this change is motivated by everything that was lacking during the confinement".José Luis Echeverría, partner and Expansion Director of the real estate company Monapart, points out.
The advantages of living in the suburbs are clear: reduced pollution (air, noise and light), access to green areas, greater peace and privacy, and cheaper prices that allow access to a home with more rooms, outdoor space - and even land - and natural light, along with an area for teleworking. Future homeowners should bear in mind that buying a home in the suburbs means greater dependence on a vehicle to make the usual journeys (school, shops, pharmacies, etc.).
However, this is a time interval which hardly exceeds the number of hours spent commuting in many large cities. Taking as a reference the data recorded by the company TomTom prior to the pandemic, for every 30-minute journey in the morning rush hour, Barcelona drivers added 17 minutes more. In total, this adds up to around six days a year locked in a car, which can even lead to mood disorders such as anxiety, depression and/or anguish.
"The 'self-exiles' have not cut the umbilical cord with the city". José Luis Echeverría, Partner and Director of Expansion of the real estate company Monapart
There are also other disadvantages, such as a more restricted cultural offer (concerts, exhibitions, theatre, etc.). But for those who can continue to telework, these are acceptable barriers.
What are buyers looking for housing in the suburbs like?
There is an interest in living outside the city, but without ceasing to be part of it, as Echeverría points out: "The 'self-exiles' have not cut the umbilical cord with the city". As Monapart observes, "they are people aged 40 and over, families with young children or couples whose children have already left home".
In addition to location, future owners are looking for "good connectivity with the city as well as proximity and the quality of public services (schools and hospital care, mainly)," Echeverría explains. And a common interest: "There has been a strong interest in single-family homes with large plots of land, as well as in self-promotions - promotions in which the client is the promoter of his own semi-detached house", Monapart shares..
August data from the INE show the gradual recovery of a real estate market that is gaining strength
Situation of the real estate market
Will this trend continue in the long term? "We don't think anyone can answer this question with too much certainty, but the data suggest that the trend to leave the city and buy a home in the suburbs (for whatever reasons) already existed prior to the outbreak of the health crisis and that it accelerated from the summer of 2020 onwards. It would therefore seem reasonable to expect that the intensity of this trend will gradually diminish without it ceasing to be so," Monapart says.
Data for August from the National Statistics Institute (INE) show the gradual recovery of a real estate market that is gaining strength. In that month, 49,884 transactions were closed, the highest figure since August 2007 (without taking into account the figure recorded a month earlier, in July, when more than 50,000 transactions took place). With an average mortgage amount of 140,021 euros, experts agree that the economic recovery and favourable mortgage conditions are some of the reasons behind this sharp upturn.
