May data shows 5.3% property price increase across Spain

Compared to last May, home values in Spain are now an average of 5.3% higher.

Figures from Spain’s National Statistics Institute (INE), published last week, have revealed that the average property price in Spain in May was 5.3% higher than during the same month in 2016…

This increase is a continuation of an almost two-year trend that has seen prices rise year-on-year for more than 20 months straight.

The latest INE data actually shows something of an acceleration of price increases, topping the average monthly increase of between 2.5 to 3%. This slight spike is largely as a result of sharp price increases in Madrid and Barcelona, where property prices are 10.6% and 8.8% higher than last year. Spain’s two largest cities are benefiting exponentially from the country’s strengthening economy, and drawing greater investment into its private and commercial real estate sectors.

Even more encouraging, however, is the fact that property prices are up across all of Spain’s 17 autonomous communities, although in Murcia (0.9% increase), Extremadura (1.1%) and Galicia (1.3%) the increases are relatively slight.

Prior to May, first quarter data showed that property prices were 2.3% higher than the previous quarter (the final three months of 2016), marking not only the seventh-consecutive quarterly increase but also a rather striking rise in such a short space of time.

Analysts and property experts have welcomed these increases. Spanish property prices are still around 40% below their peak of 2008, and this sustained and steady nature of how values are rising points to a post-boom market that is beginning to properly reflect true value, offering banks, mortgage lenders and – more importantly – homeowners peace of mind.