Spain’s property prices up 1.15% in third quarter

The number of British buyers recorded in the third quarter has risen by 37% in a year

Data published this week by Spain’s Property Registrars has revealed that property prices have risen by 1.15 per cent in the third quarter of 2014 when compared to the same period last year…

These figures lend further confirmation to the widely held belief that the Spanish property market has shaken off the effects of the recent recession and is now firmly camped in positive territory.

Over the course of 2014, property prices have largely been stable, with slight increases quarter-by-quarter, and a mild decline of 0.08% between Q2 and Q3. Overall, though, the trend is towards steady growth and recovery – which bodes well for 2015 and beyond.

The Registrars’ data also revealed that the number of property transactions has risen, increasing by 1.4 per cent between Q2 and Q3, with 79,561 sales recorded between June and September across the country.

Of this figure, the majority of house sales were resales, with more than 52,000 properties changing hands. That figure is almost double the amount of new-build homes sold (27,434), and represents a quarterly increase on 8.92 per cent.

Over the past 12 months, cumulative sales of property in Spain have reached 313,607, with Andalucía leading the way with more than 16,000 property transactions recorded in that period.

The proportion of properties bought by foreign nationals has also increased, with foreigners snapping up 30,708 of all properties bought in the past 12 months – a 13.1 per cent market share.

Within this group, the Brits are the biggest spenders once again, snapping up 1,886 Spanish properties in the third quarter alone – an impressive 37 per cent increase on this time last year. This performance strengthens Brits’ position as the largest group of investors in Spain at 20 per cent, followed by the French on 12 per cent, Russians on eight per cent and Germans on seven per cent.

During Spain’s property boom years, Brits accounted for around 8-9 per cent of foreign purchases, with that figure plunging to around four per cent in 2009. Since then, however, the slow and steady recovery of the Spanish property market has beckoned the Brits back in their droves.