Spanish house prices fell again by double digits in August according to the House Price Index published by Tinsa, a leading appraisal company. Spanish house prices are now clearly in a double-dip, as illustrated by the chart above.

Peak-to-present, Spanish house prices have fallen 32.4pc since December 2007, and by 39pc in real terms (after inflation) Unfortunately for Spaniards, the credit crunch means that few of them can get financing to take advantage of these increasingly attractive property prices.

Once again prices fell the most (-14.7pc over 12 months) on the Mediterranean coast , where there market is trying to digest an kingsize glut of newly-built holiday-homes. Average prices on the coast have now fallen a cumulative 40pc peak-to-present, and many properties have fallen by much more than that.

Explaining cumulative falls broken down by regions, Tinsa say: “With regards to the cumulative falls by segment since the top of the market, the “Mediterranean Coast” is once again the biggest faller, with a decline of 39.5%; followed by “Capitals and Major Cities” with 35.6%, “Metropolitan Areas” with 31.4%, the “Balearic and Canary Islands” with 30.2% and “Other Municipalities”, which refers to those not included in other categories, with 27.4%.”

Note the big difference between the Tinsa index and the official Spanish House Price Index, published by the Housing Department in the Ministry of Public Works (Fomento), which would have us believe that house prices have fallen by just 24pc since the peak. That helps explain why so many people outside of Spain, who read news reports based on official figures, are under the impression that prices have much further to fall. Nobody in Spain believes the official figures.

The following table shows the annualised index broken down by area: