Many of the closed agencies were companies where only one realtor worked. To work, they needed an internet site to advertise properties, a mobile phone for negotiations, and a car to travel to show apartments.
The significant reduction in the number of real estate agencies is explained by the fact that from 2006 to the present, the number of transactions in the Spanish residential and commercial real estate market has decreased by 80%. Other reasons include the sharp drop in property values and bankruptcies of development companies.
In addition, Spain is now tightening requirements for real estate agencies. For example, in Catalonia, a more complex registration procedure and mandatory professional liability insurance have been introduced for real estate agencies. This factor, according to experts, will also lead to the closure of a number of companies. Experts predict that by the end of this year, another 5,000 agencies providing real estate services will cease operations.
As Lenta.ru notes, over the past 10 years, the construction sector was the main driving force of Spanish economic growth. Problems in the industry began at the end of 2007, when mortgage lending rates in Spain sharply increased, and banks practically stopped lending to developers. Now the real estate market in Spain, like the economy of the entire country, is in a state of stagnation.
According to the Spanish Ministry of Housing, sales of already built houses in the country fell by 46% last year compared to 2007, when more than 321,000 home purchase deals were concluded in Spain.