Press release 29/02/2012

MUNICIPAL HOUSING STATISTICS OF THE BASQUE COUNTRY 1/-2010

The stock of housing of the Basque Country has increased at a rate of 8232 units per year since 2006

Compared to the previous period, the increase in the number of houses has been reduced to less than half

On the first of January 2010, the stock of houses in the Basque Country had increased by 24,695 units with respect to 2006, with an annual average of 8232 houses, according to data provided by Eustat. This datum shows the onset of a deceleration in the housing construction sector, with the average annual rate of growth slowed down by 60% compared to the rate in 2001 and 2006 (20,486 houses).

44.8% of the increase in the Basque Country since 2006 was absorbed by Bizkaia, 32.8% by Gipuzkoa and the remaining 22.4% by Álava.

The trend in residential stock has been more or less intensive, depending on the territory.

In terms of the trend in each province, Alava stands out in recent years, with a 3.8% increase in houses, followed by Gipuzkoa (2.5%) and Bizkaia, up 2.2%.

At regional level, average growth over this period has been 2.5%. The growth rate in the Encartaciones regions in Bizkaia (5.9%), Plentzia-Mungia (4.6%) and Markina-Ondarroa (4.5%) stands out. The Llanada Alavesa region in Álava, where the capital Vitoria-Gasteiz is located, is the region with the second highest growth rate in the autonomous community, with a rate of 4.7%. The Alto Deba region, up 4.5%, is the region with the greatest housing expansion in Gipuzkoa.

Vitoria-Gasteiz was the capital where the residential stock grew the most during the period, up 5%.

Vitoria-Gasteiz was the capital that grew the most, by 5% in recent years (5066 more houses), followed by Donostia-San Sebastián by 3.5% (2950 more), whereas Bilbao was the capital that grew less (0.8%), with an additional 1237 houses on the first of January 2010.

At municipal level, the increase in the stock of houses in small towns stands out: in Arakaldo, up 38.6%, Munitibar-Arbatzegi Gerrikaitz-, 29.2%, whilst in Etxebarri, Arantzazu, Irura, Loiu, Elburgo/Burgelu and Okondo, an increase of approximately 20% was witnessed. The larger towns grew less with respect to the previous year, as in the case of Irun (1.8%) and Barakaldo (3.7%).

Eight out of ten houses are used as the habitual residence

In terms of the stock of family housing from the point of view of use, 83.9% are employed as the habitual residence, whereas 16.1% are empty or used as a second home.

Bizkaia has a smaller proportion of secondary or unoccupied homes, 14.8% of the total stock of family housing, as opposed to 17.5% in Gipuzkoa and Álava.

By regions, three regions in Álava stand out with a high percentage of secondary and unoccupied houses in relation to the province's residential stock of family housing: Rioja Alavesa with 47.0%, Valles Alaveses with 45.2% and Montaña Alavesa, with 45.4%.

The average age of Basque houses is 39 years with 87 square metres of useable floor space

On the first of January 2010, there were 5112 detached houses, representing an increase of 20% since 2006. However, buildings with 3 to 10 homes (29% of the stock of family housing) and 11 to 20 homes (31.3%) are still the norm.

The average age of the family housing stock of the Basque Country is 39.2 years: 33.2 in Álava, 39.8 in Gipuzkoa and 40.6 in Bizkaia.

The average useable floor space in Basque family housing is 86.9 square metres. Álava has the largest houses, with an average floor space of 92.1 m2, followed by Gipuzkoa with 87.2 m2 and Bizkaia with 85.2 m2.

In relation to the number of rooms, three quarters of Basque family housing have 4 to 5 rooms (baths, washrooms, toilets and kitchens measuring less than 4 square metres were not counted), with houses with 5 rooms (49.2%) accounting for the highest percentage. The average number of rooms in family housing was 4.9 and the average number of baths, 1.3.

64.3% of all family housing has a lift installed in the building, representing an increase of 3.3 percentage points with respect to 2006.

For further information:

Basque Statistics Office C/ Donostia-San Sebastián, 1 01010 Vitoria-Gasteiz Tel:+34-945-01 75 00 Fax:+34-945-01 75 01 E-mail: eustat@eustat.es Contact: Cristina Arenaz Lareo Tel: +34-945-01 75 06 Fax:+34-945-01 75 01