This is a website for buyers, owners, and sellers of property in Spain, offering reliable information and resources to help you get things done with confidence. It is run by Mark Stücklin, author of the Spanish Property Doctor Column in The Sunday Times (2005-2008), and the book ‘Need to Know: Buying Property in Spain’ published by Collins.
Every month the SPI House Price Index Tracker plots the progress of the seven most-watched house price indices in Spain, and puts them all on one page.
Four of them published house price data in October, highlighted in the chart above. Though published in October, the data relates to previous months.
As I always point out, the national figures are not much use to buyers and sellers who want to know what is going on in their local market segments, which can vary substantially from the national picture. They do, however, get a lot of media attention in Spain, and might influence expectations.
So without reading too much into the national figures, here are my comments on the figures published last month.
NOTARIES
Average house prices fell 4% in August, shows the data from the Notaries’ Association, though home sale rose by 17% in the same month. The index published by the Notaries is the most volatile of all the seven, though it has been negative most of this year. The picture one gets from the Notaries’ figures is that the housing market is expanding, but prices are still falling at a national average level because supply still swamps demand. This is not the case in some hot local markets like Barcelona, Madrid, Marbella, and Ibiza. The average price of property in Spain is still 41% below its peak in 2007, say the Notaries.
IDEALISTA & FOTOCASA (ASKING PRICES)
Asking price data from Idealista and Fotocasa – two big property portals – show asking prices still falling, by 2.7% and 0.6% respectively, because vendors in many locations are still having to lower their expectations to find a buyer. In hot local markets, which are still in a minority, asking prices are stable or rising. Peak to present, asking prices are down 45% say Fotocasa.
TINSA
Tinsa – Spain’s leading appraisal company – publishes a monthly house price index based on its valuations, which in turn are based on sales comparables, amongst other variables. The Tinsa index rose 2.4% in September, the second highest increase since the crisis began. Prices based on Tinsa’s valuations rose 4.4% in the Balearic and Canary Islands, and by 4.3% on the Mediterranean coast, both areas that benefit from foreign demand.
