Demand for housing will fall by 22% over next ten years

Over the next ten years, demand for housing in the Balearics will fall by as much as 22 per cent, according to the results of a study carried out by the local government and presented yesterday by the vice-president Pere Sampol. Sampol said that the report is “good news” and that over the next five years, demand will fall by nine per cent. Sampol said that the report indicates that the Balearic housing market and construction industry is entering a stage of “moderation” which he believes is positive for the region and does not indicate a period of economic crisis. Sampol said that the fundamental reason for the fall is the drop in demand for housing in the 25 to 35 age group, children of the “baby boom” in the 70*s. The study revealed that 1961, 1985 and 1993 were years of “enormous and rapid” activity in the construction industry, but now the sector is slowing down. One of the key indications is that in June this year, the number of new jobs in the construction industry was 7.9 per cent, in 1999 the figure was as high as 22 per cent and last year 15.7 per cent. Sampol also said that the Balearics, when it comes to housing, is the most expensive autonomous community in Spain and that only 50 per cent of families invest in buying a property.