datasets

Housing is one of the main concerns of Spanish citizens, according to the January 2025 barometer of the Centro de Investigaciones Sociológicas (CIS). In order to know the real situation of access to housing, it is necessary to have public, updated and quality data, which allows all the actors in this ecosystem to carry out analyses and make informed decisions.

In this article we will review some examples of available open data, as well as tools and solutions that have been created based on them to bring this information closer to citizens.

Examples of housing data Open data can have several uses in this sector:

• Enable public bodies to understand citizens' needs and develop policies accordingly.
• Helping individuals to find homes to rent or buy.
• Providing information to builders and companies so that they can develop housing that responds to these needs.

Therefore, in this field, the most used data include those referring to housing, but also to demographic and social aspects, often with a high geospatial component. Some of the most popular datasets in this sense are the Housing and Consumer Price Indexes of the National Statistics Institute (INE) or the Cadastre data.

Different public bodies have made available to the public spaces where they gather various data related to housing. This is the case of Barcelona City Council and its portal "Housing in data", an environment that centralises access to information and data from various sources, including datasets from its open data portal.

Another example is the Madrid City Council data visualisation portal, which includes dashboards with information on the number of residential properties by district or neighbourhood, as well as their cadastral value, with direct access to download the data used.

Further examples of bodies that also provide access to this type of information are the Junta de Castilla y León, the Basque Government or the Comunidad Valenciana. In addition, those who wish to do so can find a multitude of data related to housing in the National Catalogue of Open Data, hosted here, at datos.gob.es.

It should also be noted that it is not only public bodies that open data related to this subject. A few months ago, the real estate portalidealistareleased a dataset with detailed information on thousands of properties in Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia. It is available as a package in R via Github.

Tools and solutions to bring this data closer to citizens

Data such as the above can be reused for multiple purposes, as we showed in previous articles and as we can see in this new approach to the various use cases:

Data journalism

The media use open housing data to provide a more accurate picture of the housing market situation, helping citizens understand the dynamics affecting prices, supply and demand. By accessing data on price developments, housing availability or related public policies, the media can generate reports and infographics that explain in an accessible way the situation and how these factors impact on people's daily lives. These articles provide citizens with relevant information, in a simple way, to make decisions about their housing situation.

One example is this article which allows us to visualise, neighbourhood by neighbourhood, the price of rent and access to housing according to income, for which open data from the Ministry of Housing and Urban Agenda, the Cadastre and the INE, among others, were used. Along the same lines is this article on the percentage of income to be spent on rent.

Reporting and policy development

Open data on housing is used by public bodies such as the Ministry of Housing and Urban Agenda in its Housing and Land Observatory, where electronic statistical bulletins are generated that integrate data available from the main official statistical sources. The aim is to monitor the sector from different perspectives and throughout the different phases of the process (land market, built products, accessibility and financing, etc.). The Ministry of Housing and Urban Agenda also uses data from various sources, such as the Tax Agency, the Cadastre or the INE, for its State Reference System of Housing Rental Prices, which defines ranges of rental price values for housing in areas declared as stressed.

Offer of real estate services

Open data can be valuable for the construction sector: open information on land use and permits is consulted before excavation work is undertaken and new construction starts.

In addition, some of the companies using open data are real estate websites. These portals reuse open data sets to provide users with comparable property prices, neighbourhood crime statistics or proximity to public educational, health and recreational facilities. This is helped, for example, by tools such as Location intelligence, which provides access to census data, rental prices, housing characteristics or urban planning. Public bodies can also help in this field with their own solutions, such as Donde Vivo, from the Government of Aragon, which allows you to obtain an interactive map and related information of the nearest points of interest, educational and health centres as well as geostatistical information of the place where you live.

There are also tools that help to forecast future costs, such as Urban3r, where users can visualise different indicators that help them to know the energy demand data of residential buildings in their current state and after undergoing energy refurbishment, as well as the estimated costs of these interventions.This is a field where data-driven disruptive technologies, such as  artificial intelligence, will play an increasingly important role, optimising processes and facilitating decision-making for both home buyers and suppliers. By analysing large volumes of data, AI can predict market trends, identify areas of high demand or provide personalised recommendations based on the needs of each user. Some companies have already launched chatbots, which answer users' questions, but AI can even help create projects for the development of affordable and sustainable housing.

In short, we are in a field where new technologies are going to make it easier and easier for citizens to find out about the supply of housing, but this supply must be aligned with the needs of users. It is therefore necessary to continue promoting the opening up of quality data, which will help to understand the situation and promote public policies and solutions that facilitate access to housing.

Data on older people can play a crucial role in promoting healthy ageing, assisting the development and maintenance of the physical and mental capacities that enable well-being in old age. This open data can be used for the development of policies to better respond to the needs of older people, such as the promotion of home care services or the creation of more accessible and safer urban spaces. They can also be used by researchers to analyse patterns and trends in your health, or by companies and developers devising solutions to improve your quality of life.  Also, such open data enables older people and their families to access relevant information about their health and well-being, empowering them to make informed choices and actively participate in their care. And these are just a few examples of possible uses!

In this article, we are going to explain two projects, linked to the Barcelona Open Data Initiative, which seek to promote the provision of data on the elderly to the public, with the aim of promoting its reuse and achieving benefits such as those mentioned above.

Ranking 50 datasets on healthy ageing

A few months ago, the Barcelona Open Data Initiative, with the support of the Diputació de Barcelona, launched a call through their social networks to identify the fifty best datasets on wellbeing and healthy ageing of older people. Through this collaborative action, to which various users have contributed, a ranking has been drawn up and is now available.

Here are some examples of datasets and the thematic categories to which they belong. All of them are suitable for re-use and offer information of great social value.

• Data related to public support, such as public support for elderly care or home help services..
• Data on services and resources available, such as services for dependent persons (day centre for older people and residence for older people), the inclusive community action resources or the active ageing workshops..
• Data related to aspects about their social situation , such as active older people, loneliness in older people or the gender digital divide.
• Data related to survey and statistics, such as the survey of users of the Telecare Service, lthe statistics on social services for the elderly or the ageing evolution of the population over 65 years of age from 2024-1975.
• Data from studies on the subject, such as the study on the accessibility of public buildings or the study on the satisfaction of users of the Meals on Wheels service..

These are just a few examples, but you can consult the complete list on the website of Iniciativa Open Data Barcelona.

 Open Data Barcelona Initiative has also created in previous years compilations of materials and rankings of datasets on other topics of social interest, such as climate change or municipalities with friendly public spaces..

Data Observatory x Seniors

Barcelona Open Data Initiative and the Democratic Union of Pensioners and Retirees of Spain, with support from the Ministry of Social Rights, Consumption and Agenda 2030, also presented a few months ago the first Data website of the Data Observatory x Seniors. Its aim is to facilitate the analysis of healthy ageing in Spain, strategic decision-making and public intervention in rural and urban environments, in order to promote the autonomy, dignity and adaptability of older people.

At the moment, you can find it on this website:

• A database where data sets from various sources, such as the National Statistics Institute (INE) or the Ministry of the Interior, arecollected.
• A space where data is displayed in a simple way through interactive graphics, aimed at both private citizens interested in the subject and professionals who want to plan, organise or propose some kind of related service. The visualisations focus on the intervention of older people in the world of associations, segmented by urban and rural municipalities, as well as their involvement in other forms of participation and leisure activities that promote social interaction and well-being in general.

The idea is that the portal will also include training tools and options.

These two projects highlight examples of categories of data and tools that can be made available to citizens in order to understand how older people live and act, with the aim of improving their quality of life. A goal to which we must all contribute, as highlighted by the World Health Organisation with its Decade of Healthy Ageing (2021-2030) initiative. In the face of demographic change and the ageing of the population that we are experiencing, it is necessary to join forces to ensure that we can all enjoy an old age with the maximum possible well-being.

The Audit Office of the Valencian Community  (Sindicatura de Comptes de la Comunitat Valenciana) has just become the first public institution of external control (ICEX) in Spain to open its data to the portal datos.gob.es. This initiative is part of the 2019-2022 strategic plan of the Valencian Community's auditing body and highlights its ongoing efforts in transparency, as well as its constant desire to offer its data in a reusable format.

Thanks to its presence in the ww.datos.gob.es platform, the data of the Audit Office will also be reflected in the European data portal, which it periodically synchronizes with the national catalogue, making visible the efforts of Spanish institutions beyond our borders.

A year of intense work

Open data allows citizens to be involved in democratic life, facilitating access to public information and its reuse to create services of value to society. In this sense, the Sindicatura de Comptes, and especially its e-government department, has been working hard for a year to open its data in what represents a novelty in the field of ICEX.

The first dataset they have published, which will be followed by others, contains the information of their inventory INVENS, which includes the entities subject to the subjective scope of this institution's audit activity.  This inventory records the accounts that have been rendered, their date and, if applicable, the incidents occurred.

The audited bodies are obliged to inform the Sindicatura de Comptes about any additions or modifications affecting this inventory. In this sense, it should be clarified that the scope of this Audit Office is broader than that set forth in the budgetary and tax legislation applicable in the Generalitat Valenciana, to local entities and universities. This means that there are entities that, not being part of these public sectors, have the obligation to render accounts and are subject to audit. The way to control all these situations and obligations was the creation of INVENS. The first phase of this was published on the Sindicatura de Comptes' website in 2019 and has been implemented with subsequent updates, the last one in February of this year.

From now on, the data included in this inventory will also be available on the national open data portal.

A dataset with multiple uses

Opening up this dataset not only facilitates access to such information, but also its reuse, which can be of interest to multiple groups and use cases, for example:

• This is information of interest to the segment of bodies audited by the Valencian Community's Audit Office and adds value to the databases of each of the associates/infomediaries.
• It is a source to update, complete and standardize data in the databases of this segment.
• It offers useful information for infomediaries that cannot be found in other similar portals.

Other pioneering background: BADESPAV

The Sindicatura de Comptes de la Comunitat Valenciana has always been a pioneer in registering and publishing its information. In 2010 it began to compile a historical record of data which, under the name "Economic Database of the Valencian Autonomous Public Sector", can be consulted on the website of this institution, at the link BADESPAV. This is a useful and easy-to-use tool that constitutes the only place where the economic and financial data provided to the Syndicate by all the entities that make up the autonomous public sector can be consulted.

It currently includes data from 1990 to 2018 and will soon add data from 1983 to 1989. It is a reliable and relevant source of information, presented in a clear and systematic manner, related to the accounting and budgetary statements (balance sheets, profit and loss accounts, budget settlements, number of employees, guarantees provided, etc.), both of the Generalitat and all its instrumental or dependent public sector, which will be updated periodically.

Future plans

Precisely the mentioned BADESPAV database is the perfect candidate for the publication of new datasets in datos.gob.es. In fact, the Syndicate plans to open the data from this database progressively in the portal as the next step. Other datasets that may be published are the Valencian public sector contracts that have been sent to the Public Sector Procurement Platform from 2012 to 2019, as well as the data from the Operational Audit Report on the environmental actions carried out in the town halls of more than 10,000 inhabitants, which the Audit Office has recently carried out.

La Sindicatura de Comptes de la Comunitat Valenciana se acaba de convertir en la primera institución pública de control externo (ICEX) del estado español que abre sus datos al portal datos.gob.es. Esta iniciativa forma parte del plan estratégico 2019-2022 del ente fiscalizador de la Comunitat Valenciana y pone de manifiesto su esfuerzo continuo de transparencia, así como el deseo constante de ofrecer sus datos en un formato reutilizable.

Gracias a su presencia en la plataforma ww.datos.gob.es, los datos de la Sindicatura tendrán también su reflejo en el portal europeo de datos, que sincroniza periódicamente con el catálogo nacional, haciendo visible el esfuerzo de las instituciones españolas más allá de nuestras fronteras.

Un año de trabajo intenso

Los datos abiertos permiten involucrar a los ciudadanos en la vida democrática, facilitando el acceso a información pública y su reutilización para crear servicios de valor para la sociedad. En este sentido, la Sindicatura de Comptes, y en especial su departamento de administración electrónica, ha estado trabajando intensamente durante un año para abrir sus datos en lo que representa una novedad en el ámbito de los ICEX.

El primer dataset (o conjunto de datos) que han publicado, al que seguirán otros, contiene la información de su inventario INVENS, que recoge los entes incluidos en el ámbito subjetivo de la actuación fiscalizadora de esta institución.  En este inventario se hacen constar las cuentas que se hayan rendido, con la fecha en que se reciben y, si es el caso, las incidencias producidas.

Los entes auditados tienen la obligatoriedad de comunicar al ente fiscalizador cualquier alta o modificación que afecte a este inventario. En este sentido, cabe aclarar que el ámbito de fiscalización de la Sindicatura es más amplio que el recogido en la legislación presupuestaria y hacendística aplicable en la Generalitat Valenciana, a las entidades locales y en las universidades, lo que hace que existan entes que, no formando parte de estos sectores públicos, tengan la obligación de rendir cuentas y estén sujetos a fiscalización. La manera de controlar todas estas situaciones y obligaciones fue la creación de INVENS. La primera fase del mismo se publicó en la web de la Sindicatura en 2019 y se ha ido implementando con posteriores actualizaciones, la última en febrero de este año.

A partir de ahora, los datos incluidos en este inventario se podrán consultar también en el portal nacional de datos abiertos.

Un dataset con múltiples usos

Con la apertura de este conjunto de datos no solo se facilita el acceso a dicha información, sino también su reutilización, que puede ser de interés para múltiples colectivos y casos de uso, como, por ejemplo:

• Se trata de información de interés para el segmento de organismos auditados por la Sindicatura de Comptes de la Comunitat Valenciana y aporta valor a las bases de datos de cada uno de los asociados/ empresas infomediarias.
• Es una fuente para actualizar, completar y normalizar datos en las bases de datos de este segmento.
• Ofrece información útil para las empresas infomediarias que no se encuentra en otros portales semejantes.

Otros antecedentes también pioneros: BADESPAV

La Sindicatura de Comptes de la Comunitat Valenciana ha sido siempre pionera en el registro y la publicación de su información. Ya en el año 2010 empezó a elaborar un registro histórico de datos que, bajo la denominación de “Base de datos Económicas del Sector Público Autonómico Valenciano”, se puede consultar en la web de esta institución, en el enlace BADESPAV. Una herramienta útil y sencilla de utilizar que constituye el único lugar donde se pueden consultar los datos económico-financieros rendidos a la Sindicatura de todos los entes que forman el sector público autonómico.

Actualmente incluye los datos de los años 1990 a 2018 y en breve se añadirán los de los ejercicios 1983 a 1989. Se trata de una fuente de información fiable y relevante, presentada de manera clara y sistemática, de los estados contables y presupuestarios (balances, cuentas de resultados, liquidaciones de presupuestos, número de empleados, avales prestados, etc.), tanto de la Generalitat como de todo su sector público instrumental o dependiente, que se irá actualizando periódicamente.

Planes de futuro

Precisamente la mencionada base de datos BADESPAV es la candidata perfecta de cara en la publicación de nuevos datasets en datos.gob.es. De hecho, la Sindicatura tiene previsto como siguiente paso ir abriendo los datos de esta base progresivamente en el portal. Otros conjuntos de datos susceptibles de ser publicados son los contratos del sector público valenciano que han sido remitidos a la Plataforma de Contratación del Sector Público desde 2012 a 2019, así como los datos del Informe de auditoría operativa sobre las actuaciones en materia medioambiental llevadas a cabo en los ayuntamientos de más de 10.000 habitantes, que la Sindicatura ha realizado recientemente.