The Spanish housing market has moved beyond the phase of across-the-board price falls, as house prices continue falling in the cheapest segments, but hold steady in the best areas.

Prime poperty prices are now stable, but declines over twelve months to the end of October have accelerated in downmarket city districts of regional capitals, reveals the latest house report by Tecnocasa, a chain of estate agents, based on sales handled by its network.

Residential real estate prices fell by more than 50pc in the case of older flats in buildings without a lift in the province of Castellón, part of the Valencian Community, home to the Costa del Azahar. Prices fell from 800 €/m2 to 300 €/m2, leaving them well-below replacement costs. For those of you who do not know the Costa del Azahar, it is in places one of the most attractive and least exploited coastal regions of Spain.

Prices also fell more than 50pc in Huesca (Aragon), from 800 to 400 €/m2, and by a third in Galicia’s La Coruña (from 1,650 €/m2 to 1,100 €/m2), and Teruel (from 900 €/m2 to 600 €/m2). Teruel is an attractive city and province of Aragon, once featured as a potential investment hotspot by A Place In The Sun.

Whilst house prices fell by between 10pc and 20pc in the majority of Spanish cities, they held steady in the prime areas like Madrid’s Calle Serrano (10,500 €/m2), Barcelona’s Paseo de Gracia (8,500 €/m2), and Marbella’s Puerto Banus (5,250 €/m2).