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Tinsa: House Prices Fell By 0.8% In Q3 2015

1 October 2015 – Expansión

Since their peak at the height of the real estate boom in 2007, average house prices have recorded a cumulative decline of 41.2%.

The statistics from the appraisal company Tinsa for the third quarter of 2015, published today in its IMIE Local Markets report, reveal that the downwards trend in average house prices in Spain is coming to an end, evidenced by the fact that average prices recorded a YoY decrease of 0.8% during Q3 2015, compared with a decrease of 2.9% in Q2 2015.

According to this study, since the peaks of 2007, average house prices have recorded a cumulative decrease of 41.2%.

The statistics, which are based on Tinsa’s appraisals of finished homes (new and second hand) performed all over the country, reveal a range of variations, since even in the areas that were first to anticipate the changing trend, such as the cities of Madrid and Barcelona, differences are now being seen in the evolution of prices.

Specifically, average prices in the Catalan capital rose by 7.4% in Q3 2015 with respect to the same period a year before, whereas in the city of Madrid, prices remained stable, increasing by just 0.2% YoY.

Variations by regions

Moreover, the markets showing the first signs of recovery are coexisting alongside others that have been slower to adjust and where the downwards trend will continue for a while. The latter are weighed down by a significant over-supply (of homes) and depend heavily on very local demand, where the recovery in the employment market still needs to be established.

In the third quarter of the year, the islands joined the select group of regions with positive YoY growth; during the second quarter, only Cataluña and Madrid recorded price increases. However, in the third quarter, average house prices also increased in the Canary Islands (by 2.3% YoY) and the Balearic Islands (by 0.9%). In Cataluña, prices increased by 1.4% and in Madrid by 0.7%.

At the other end of the spectrum, prices continued to decrease in Murcia (-5.1%), País Vasco (-5.6%), Extremadura (-6%) and Galicia (-6.4%), which recorded the largest YoY reductions out of all of Spain’s provinces.

Nevertheless, Castilla-La Mancha is still the autonomous region that has recorded the greatest cumulative decrease in house prices since the peaks of 2007, with a -52.1% average reduction, followed by Cataluña (-49.6%) and Aragón (-49.3%).

Original story: Expansión

Translation: Carmel Drake