Spanish property prices fell by 5.5% over 12 months to the end of February, according to the property price index published monthly by Tinsa, one of Spain’s leading appraisal companies. That means no change for the national index since last month, which Tinsa describes as showing “a certain level of stabilisation.”
But whilst the national index may or may not be stabilising, there was a marked deterioration last month in the two areas that interest holiday home buyers the most, namely the Mediterranean coast and the Islands. Having improved for 4 consecutive months since September last year, prices on the coast lurched back down by 8.2% over 12 months to the end of February, and by 8.9% in the Canaries and the Balearics.
The following table gives the annualised % change for selected regions in February
Peak to present
On a peak to present basis (since prices peaked in December 2007), prices are down 15.7% nationally, 22% on the Mediterranean coast, and 16.8% in the Canaries and the Balearics.
As always, I need to point out that Tinsa’s figures are based on their own valuations, not actual transaction prices. They may be, probably are, quite wide of the mark. Nevertheless, they are interesting in what they reveal about trends, and the valuations used by banks for mortgage lending purposes.