IMF signals bottoming out of Spanish property prices

The IMF says Spanish property prices have come to, or may be near their lowest point

Published just over a week ago the International Monetary Fund’s January Multi-Country Report concludes that property prices in Spain, Ireland, Denmark and the Netherlands “have come to, or may be near their lowest point”…

Examining the state of the property sector in these countries – all of which have experienced a substantial drop in prices in the last 7 or 8 years – the IMF pointed out that all four nations share the EU’s same institutional framework, as well as a common monetary policy. However, the study also highlights the fact that Spain and Ireland were the worst hit of the four, since they had built considerably more properties during the boom years, while declining prices had been compounded by rising levels of unemployment and a standstill in construction activity.

The IMF report echoes the Bank of Spain’s assertion last month that the adjustment in the property market has now entered a period of stabilisation.

Meanwhile, other good news, this time from the CIS, the country’s Centre for Sociological Studies, shows that for the first time since the property bubble burst, a majority of Spanish consumers also believe that house prices will stabilise in 2015.

Of the 1,500 people surveyed by the CIS for their Consumer Confidence Index published in December, 50.1 per cent said they thought prices would neither rise nor fall this year, compared with 26.1 per cent who were of the opinion that prices would continue to rise, and 17.9 per cent who expected them to fall. In addition, 3.5 per cent of those surveyed said they were planning to buy a residential property this year.

The CIS survey also shows a significant increase in Spanish consumer confidence generally, both in regard to the current situation as well as future expectations.