According to the study, the senior profile is leading the purchase-sale of houses. Three out of four transactions are carried out by people with ages between 60 and 70 years old. Regarding the type of transactions performed by senior profile, nine out of ten refers to sale of properties, where the surplus of space in the house after the sons leave home is the main reason.
Houses put up for sale by the senior owners have, on average, more than 100 m², with three or four rooms, and are located in urban areas like Madrid and Barcelona, with all the services and a good public transport network. The average price of the sale surpass the €225,000.
“With the social and demographic changes we are living in the occident, the bigger houses located in the center are occupied by one person only and, in most cases, with restricted mobility, and the buildings don’t meet the best conditions for people in these age”, says Ricardo Sousa, CEO of Century21 for Spain and Portugal.
German, English, Scandinavian and Russians are the ones that buy the most
Regarding the foreign senior investor, mainly between 60 and 65 years old, English, German and those coming from Scandinavian countries (Norway, Sweden and Denmark) are the ones investing more in Spain, followed by Russians, a country that has increased its volume of second residence purchase in Spain, over the last years.
The criteria more requested are houses located in coastal area, with a surface between 90 and 120m², with 2 or 3 rooms. To the foreign buyer is very important to have also a lift, that are located in the waterfront and have easy access to medical services. The purchase average price may range from €100,000 to €200,000, existing also a luxury sector with prices above the €450,000.