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In 2018, 100,733 visas were granted to build new housing, 25% more than a year ago and this is a figure that was not seen since 2009, when there were 110,849 visas, according to data from the Ministry of Development. Of the total number of visas, 79,453 were for building blocks of flats and 21,254 for chalets.

In this way, visas already have five consecutive years of increases. In 2013 it marked a historical minimum (34,288 units), a figure that, since the maximum reached in 2006, with 865,561 visas, represented a 96% collapse.

Despite the good data of 2018, the construction sector considers that a healthy market is one that is capable of generating some 150,000 new work visas a year.

Why is it costing 150,000 homes to be built each year?

Daniel Cuervo, manager of Asprima, points out several reasons:

Work permits take a long time to be granted. From Asprima they assure that if they were more dynamic, there would be more works and, therefore, more visas granted. In general, a municipality takes 14 months to give the license and, from here, the work is approved by the Association of Quantity Surveyors.
Financing has returned to the real estate sector, but it is not immediate. In fact, the funds value several operations at the same time and are selective.
Daniel Cuervo also points out that the urban planning in Spain is paralyzed, due to the high legal uncertainty. "Urban planning is judicialized, something that we must stop. Gaining legal security means minimizing risks, "he adds. And it is that in Madrid there are several paralyzed plans (the PAU of the Southeast, the old Operation Chamartín), in Vigo, Santander or Marbella, too.
In this sense, Daniel del Pozo, responsible for idealist / data, says that "the scandals of urban corruption of the past have led to the demonization of any urban initiative. No politician dares to develop a general plan or to carry out urban planning procedures to generate land so that they do not dismiss him as a speculator. In addition, we must bear in mind that there are municipal elections in May 2019 and local governments do not want to give any argument to the opposition that embitters the election campaign. "

Other reasons pointed out by Daniel del Pozo are:

The ignorance of the functioning of the market and of the real demand on the part of the Public Administration. The increase in prices that is occurring in some areas is due to high demand and the lack of supply. To avoid an uncontrolled price increase, what must be done is to identify which zones and type of product are being demanded and from there generate land to offset supply and demand.
In addition, del Pozo stresses that the main land portfolios are in the hands of banks, Sareb and funds. "Although they are selling little by little, they are still waiting for the best time to sell and get the best return on their investment. There is a paradox that the soils in demanded areas, which are what the promoters want, are being retained by the owners expecting an increase in prices and at the same time the owners offer the promoters the land in less demanded areas, "he adds.
"The political uncertainty, the threats of interventionism and / or changes in the regulation of the real estate market are causing all kinds of debates regarding the date of the next crisis", Del Pozo