Spanish property index shows 5.12% price rise over past 12 months

Spain’s property market is approaching a perfect storm of rising values and rising transactions.

Latest data from Spain’s Property Registrars has revealed that property prices have risen by an average of 5.12 per cent in the 12 months up to the end of June.

The Registrars’ latest index report also revealed that prices rose 2.65 per cent in the second quarter of the year compared to the first quarter. What’s more, compared to the second quarter in 2014 (the three months between April 1 and June 30), prices are up by 2.8 per cent year-over-year…

Taking these increases into account, the average Spanish property is still retailing for around 29 per cent below 2007 levels, but values have risen steadily since the market began its recovery in 2013.

Economists and property experts are confident that this steady increase in property prices is sustainable, perhaps not nationwide – where there are huge regional fluctuations in value – but certainly in the strongest markets. The Costa del Sol is one of Spain’s most robust and mature property markets, and prices there have been increasing steadily since the tail end of 2013.

The leading markets are now awash with sellers that are prepared to adjust their expectations accordingly, and buyers that are no longer content to sit and wait for prices to fall, but rather have begun buying in their droves now in order to capitalise on historically attractive prices and improving mortgage rates.

“Now more than ever rational decision making is needed to avoid the errors of the past, which came at such a high cost to the economy and society,” said the report.

Spain’s previous property bubble reached its peak in 2007 before crashing shortly afterwards and, in turn, leaving thousands of investors either stuck in negative equity as prices plunged, or bereft of confidence that things would improve.

This year’s recovery is testament to Spain’s recent economic upturn, its labour market reforms and its enduring appeal as a destination that people love to visit and live in. Its property market is a reflection of that strength, and the encouraging data that has characterised much of 2015 is expected to continue long into 2016 and beyond.