Spanish property prices continue to fall, but at a shrinking rate, confirm the latest stats from the Housing Department in the Ministry of Public Works.
Spanish property prices fell by 2.6 per cent in Q3 2014 – the decrease in Q2 was 2.9 percent – compared with the same period in 2013. This latest adjustment brings the average square metre price for housing to €1,455.80.
The latest price drop is also the lowest on record since the end of 2008 when the Spanish property bubble started to burst. In terms of quarterly rates and comparing the third quarter with the second, it could be said that changes in prices have stabilised after registering a minimal decrease of 0.2 per cent.
Looking at the data depending on the age of the properties, depreciation in new builds (properties up to two years old) and in resale properties (houses over two years old) is practically the same. New properties fell 2.9 per cent in price to €1,518.50 while prices for resale properties dropped by 2.6 per cent to €1,431.10.
In regional terms, the biggest quarterly price drops were in Navarre (-7.5 per cent), Extremadura (-5.5 per cent), Murcia (-5.2 per cent), Aragón (-4.3 per cent), La Rioja (-4.3 per cent) and Castilla-La Mancha (-4.1 per cent). At the opposite end are Ceuta and Melilla (0.4 per cent), the Canaries (-0.1 per cent), the Balearics (-0.2 per cent), Catalonia (-1 per cent) and Cantabria (-1.3 per cent).
Worthy of special mention is the Community of Madrid, one of the main drivers of the Spanish property market with an annual adjustment of 1.8 per cent, leaving the average per square metre price of properties in Madrid in €2,006.20. This is the second most expensive in Spain, behind only the Basque Country where the square metre is valued at €2,438.60 after falling 2.7 per cent in Q3 of 2014.
In municipalities with over 25,000 inhabitants, the highest square metre prices are found in San Sebastián (Basque Country) at €3,154, Getxo (near Bilbao, €2,842.40), Alcobendas (Madrid €2,464.30), Calvià (Mallorca, €2,463), Sant Cugat del Vallès (near Barcelona, €2,447.10), Barcelona (€2,404.20) and Bilbao (€2,387.70).
At the opposite end, the lowest square metre prices in municipalities with over 25,000 inhabitants can be found in Ontinyent (Valenciana Community, €545.20), Jumilla (Murcia, €557.80), Elda (Alicante province, €588), Yecla (Murcia, €598.60), Villarrobledo (Albacete province, €610) and Crevillente (Valenciana Community, €615.80).
Lastly, the average square metre price for social housing in Spain in Q3 2014 was €1,097.50, 0.1 per cent lower than Q2. Compared with the same quarter in 2013, the variation is 1.5 per cent less.
