Resale property prices increased by 3.7%
The average price of second-hand housing in Spain stood at 1,680€ p/m² at the end of May, a monthly increase of 0.3%, according to data released by property portal fotocasa.
The increase shows once again that the price of second-hand housing has stabilised and we are leaving behind the dramatic price drops seen in recent years.
When looking at the year-on-year variation the average price has increased 3.7% compared to May 2016. This continues the recent trend of positive year-on-year changes. In fact, this is the eighth consecutive month of year-on-year increases. Additionally, the annual variation is the highest since June 2007, when the annual variation was 4.7%.
“Housing is once again of serious interest, especially to investors, but also to individuals who perceive that prices are not going to fall much more. The return of credit and improvements in the Spanish economy and employment levels also help. But we must not forget that we are recovering from a low… the market is normalizing after the strong adjustment that it suffered,” says Beatriz Toribio, Head of Studies at fotocasa.
We must also remember that the price of resale property has fallen by 43.1% since the peak of April 2007. Back then the average price stood at 2,952€ p/m².
Five Autonomous Communities Increase
Of the 17 autonomous communities, five saw the average price of second-hand housing increase in May. The strongest increase was seen in the Balearic Islands where prices rose by 1.2%. Madrid was next with an increase of 0.8%. The Basque Country, Castilla-La Mancha and Andalusia all saw the average price increase by 0.1%, compared to April.
At the other end of the table we see the strongest fall was recorded in La Rioja (-1.4%). Both Galicia and Navarra saw the average price fall by 0.9%.
Price Ranking
The Basque Country remains the most expensive community in Spain, with an average price of 2,713€ p/m², followed by Madrid with 2,280€ p/m², and Catalonia 2,188€ p/m². The most economical communities for second-hand housing are Castilla-La Mancha (1,065€ m²), Extremadura (1,096€ m²) and Murcia (1,141€ m²).
In Andalucía, the average price is 1,495€ p/m² putting it 185€ below the national average.
