Renovation & construction
How many new villas are built in the Zona Alta: an open-data count
In Sarrià-Sant Gervasi and Les Corts, 62 new single-family houses were started in 2021–2025, about 12 a year. I count from Generalitat statistics and explain what the figure does not say.
Between 2021 and 2025, construction began on 62 new single-family houses in the districts of Sarrià-Sant Gervasi and Les Corts, about 12 a year, and 61 were completed. That is 49% of all such houses in the city (127 started). The count uses the Generalitat de Catalunya statistics “Habitatges iniciats i acabats a Barcelona per districtes” (Generalitat page). A new villa here means a habitatge unifamiliar, that is, a house for one family, detached (aïllat) or terraced (adossat), as new construction. I found no municipal licences by district in the open datasets, so I count from project visas and completion certificates.
How many new single-family houses were started in the Zona Alta by year?
Zona Alta here means two districts: Sarrià-Sant Gervasi (which includes Sarrià, Sant Gervasi, Les Tres Torres, Vallvidrera and Tibidabo) and Les Corts (which includes Pedralbes). The statistics treat as started the projects with a visa from the professional association.
| Year | Sarrià-Sant Gervasi | Les Corts | All Barcelona |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 9 | 7 | 37 |
| 2022 | 9 | 0 | 20 |
| 2023 | 10 | 2 | 23 |
| 2024 | 12 | 2 | 31 |
| 2025 | 7 | 4 | 16 |
| Five-year total | 47 | 15 | 127 |
Completed in the same years: 43 in Sarrià-Sant Gervasi, 18 in Les Corts and 113 in the whole city. In the first half of 2026, 2 houses were started in Sarrià-Sant Gervasi and none in Les Corts, and 7 and 1 were completed respectively. Source of the figures: Generalitat files by year and for the first half of 2026; the totals are my own.
What does this figure say and what does it not?
It gives the scale: new villas in the upper districts number a handful a year. The statistics count housing units, not buildings, and take them from the visas and completion certificates of the technical professional associations, not from municipal licences (Generalitat methodology). The visa is issued by the association for the project and is equal neither to a licence nor to the start of work on site.
What it does not say. The price of the houses: any single-family house enters the count, not only those above 3 M€. On floor area the picture is mixed: of the 11 houses started in the two districts in 2025, 7 had more than 150 m². Refurbishments: the statistics track new construction, and how many villas in Pedralbes are rebuilt without new construction it does not show. And a single figure for the city: COAC (the Catalan architects' association) shows 503 new homes with a visa in Barcelona in the first half of 2026 (COAC, H1 2026), while the Generalitat shows 662 started on the same subject. Two public series for one city diverge. The sources differ: the Generalitat, under its methodology, takes visas from the associations of technical architects and building engineers, while COAC counts visas of the Architects' Association. Whether these two flows explain the whole gap, the publications do not say.
How does it compare with the size of the market?
Worked example, not a forecast and not market statistics. In 2025, 11 new single-family houses were started in the two districts. According to the notarial deeds in Open Data BCN, at least 2 072 home sales were completed in the same districts in 2025 (1 392 in Sarrià-Sant Gervasi and 680 in Les Corts; small values are hidden, so the figure is a lower bound). Eleven against two thousand is about 0,5%. The units differ, houses started against flats sold, so this is an order of magnitude, not a market share.
The conclusion for an investor, and it is my estimate from orders of magnitude, not a separate statistic: most deals in the Zona Alta involve existing housing, so the key decision more often concerns an old house with its history, its protection and its restrictions than new construction.
How do you check the supply for a specific plot?
Through licences and documents, not through statistics. The licence for major works (llicència d'obra major) is issued by the Ajuntament (city council), and it shows the project, floor area and conditions. How it is obtained in Catalonia is described in the article on the building licence, the difference between a plot with and without a licence in the article on plot prices, and timelines in the piece on permits in Barcelona. Questions about the status of a specific licence and about the protection of a building go to an abogado (lawyer) and an architect.
Who is this count not for?
Anyone who wants to assess competition for a project on a specific street: district statistics say nothing about neighbouring plots, for which you need the licence map and a check at the Ajuntament. Anyone looking for the number of villas above 3 M€ or in a protected zone: there is no such breakdown. And anyone who uses it to calculate future supply: a visa does not guarantee completion, and the share completed within the five-year series is not shown. For a project it is a pointer to scale, not a forecast.
DNPI's approach to plots and timelines is described on the land strategy page, and the way we work with numbers is in the methodology section.
Questions and answers
How many new villas are built in Barcelona each year?
According to Generalitat statistics for 2021–2025, between 16 and 37 new single-family houses were started in the city each year, 127 over five years. Almost half fall in the districts of Sarrià-Sant Gervasi and Les Corts. These are houses of any price and size.
Is there open statistics on villa licences by district?
In the Open Data BCN datasets I checked, there are no licences for new housing by district. The Generalitat provides project visas and completion certificates. Information on specific licences can be requested from the Ajuntament.
Where are the most new villas built in the Zona Alta?
In Sarrià-Sant Gervasi: 47 of the 62 houses started over five years. In Les Corts, which includes Pedralbes, 15, with none in 2022.
Does this mean the shortage of villas is growing?
The statistics do not prove it. They show the small number of new houses, but say nothing about demand, the number of villas on the market or the conversion of old houses. A conclusion about shortage has to be confirmed with other figures.
Can this statistic be used to estimate the supply of houses above 3 M€?
No. It contains no price, so houses of every class enter the count and the segment above 3 M€ cannot be isolated.
