Property prices in Spain fell last year more than anywhere else other than Greece, according to the Knight Frank Global House Price Index league table
2012 was a bad year for property owners in Spain. Spanish house prices fell officially by 10pc (or by 12.8pc if you use the figures from the INE), putting Spain in second last place in the ranking of 55 markets tracked by Knight Frank, behind only Greece.
The official house price figures in Spain are notoriously dodgy. In reality, house prices are likely to have fallen by more than 15pc.
At the other end of the scale, house prices surged 23pc last year in Hong Kong, and 19pc in Dubai, which recently went through a big property crash similar to Spain.
“Greece, Spain and perhaps more surprisingly the Netherlands languished in the bottom five rankings for the second consecutive quarter,” writes Kate Everett-Allen, head of International Residential Research at Knight Frank.
Falling house prices are a European problem. “Of the 55 housing markets we track 20 saw prices fall in 2012, down from 25 in 2011. What is more telling perhaps is the fact that 19 of the 20 countries which experienced price falls in 2012 were located in Europe,” explains Everett-Allen.
Peak-to-present Spanish house prices have now fallen close to 30pc, and there are now some great deals to be had. Spain won’t be bringing up the rear of the Knight Frank Global House Price table for much longer.
[link type=”paperclip-dark” href=”http://resources.knightfrank.com/GetResearchResource.ashx?versionid=1709&type=1″ target=”_blank”]Get the 2012 Global House Price Index (pdf) from Knight Frank[/link]
