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Notaries: Average House Prices Fall By 5.1% In 2016

18 July 2016 – Idealista.com

According to data provided by the General Council of Notaries, house prices (measured in €/sqm) have decreased since the start of 2016. Specifically, average house prices decreased by 5.1% between January and May to reach €1,261/m2. The average price in May was the lowest recorded so far this year and represents a 1.6% decrease compared with the same month in 2015.

The market for house sales normalised in terms of the number of operations during the fifth month of the year after two months of significant increases. In May, 38,845 transactions were signed, up by 11.4% YoY, but slightly below the number of operations recorded in March and April. According to the data published by the notaries, during the five months to May, 181,056 house sales were recorded, which represents an increase of 16.1% compared with the period from January to May 2015.

Sales were led by second hand apartments, which recorded 26,880 operations, representing an increase of 16.8%; they were also driven by family homes, which rose by 9.2% YoY to 7,885 transactions. Nevertheless, the sale of new homes decreased by 22.6% with respect to the same period in 2015 with 2,495 homes sold.

“The increase in house sales in May reflects the path underlying the recovery of the real estate market” confirmed the notaries.

In terms of price per square metre, the notaries found that during the fifth month of the year, house prices decreased by 1.6% YoY to €1,261/m2. Since the start of 2016, when prices amounted to €1,330/m2 (the highest figure in the last year), prices have recorded a cumulative decrease of 5.1%.

Original story: Idealista.com (by David Marrero)

Translation: Carmel Drake