Housing developers in Mataró warned on Tuesday of a significant imbalance between supply and demand in the North Metropolitan Area of Barcelona, including the Maresme region. Representatives from the construction sector said the market is far from achieving necessary equilibrium, despite ongoing activity.
Data from 2025 shows uneven development across the territory. Mataró saw 187 new homes started, a 32.7% decrease from the previous year, while completed homes increased to 472, up 41.7%. Other municipalities like Badalona experienced a sharp rise in housing starts, with 303 units. Terrassa and Sabadell led the region in new housing starts, with 542 and 476 homes respectively. Barcelona maintained stable starts but recorded a notable drop in completed homes.
At a regional level, the Maresme saw a 27% reduction in housing starts but a 58% increase in completions. The Barcelonès region experienced a decrease in finished homes despite a slight rise in starts. Vallès Occidental and Vallès Oriental also reported moderate declines in housing starts but significant increases in completions, showing a delay between different phases of the property cycle.
Sales Remain Strong
Property sales maintained a high volume of transactions. In the Maresme, 953 new homes and 3,968 used homes were sold up to the third quarter of 2025. This confirms the existing housing stock's dominant role in the market. This pattern was repeated across other regions analysed, with second-hand homes clearly outnumbering new builds.
During the event, Marc Torrent, general director of the Associació de Promotors de Catalunya (APCE), said the main problem for the sector is insufficient housing production to meet existing demand. He stated, “it is necessary to expand the supply across all types, for both sale and rent, and for both market-rate and affordable housing.” Torrent attributed this situation to a lack of available land and slow urban planning processes.
Solutions Proposed by Industry
Participants agreed on several solutions. These included the need to boost public-private collaboration to speed up the promotion of affordable housing. They also called for simplifying and streamlining administrative processes to reduce project execution times. The importance of mobilising available land and unblocking undeveloped sectors to increase construction capacity was also highlighted.
Furthermore, diversifying residential offerings to adapt to new social needs was stressed. This includes the growth of the rental market and new ways to access housing. From a financial perspective, banks play a key role in providing credit to both developers and buyers, which is seen as critical for sustaining the sector's activity.
Despite the challenges, development activity continues in the province of Barcelona. In 2025, 10,553 homes were started and 12,573 completed. The number of developments on offer reached 566, with over 12,600 homes, of which about 20% are still available. These figures confirm an active market, but also show that current supply is not enough to absorb existing demand.
