Spanish house prices post first nationwide rise since 2008

Although slight, the nationwide recovery in Spanish property prices is an encouraging sign for the market

House prices in Spain recorded their first nationwide average increase since 2008 last month, as the recovering property market spreads across the entire country.

Data from the Public Works Ministry showed that the trend began in the last quarter of 2014, with prices for existing homes across Spain rising in value by 0.5 per cent at the end of the year…

This rise represented a 0.2 per cent increase on the previous quarter, and although the value in new home prices dropped 0.1 per cent last quarter, the overall trend was positive nationwide for the first time in nearly eight years.

Free-market housing prices came in at an average of €1,463.10 per square metre at the end of 2014, which was the surest sign yet that the depression in Spanish property prices had come to an end, the Public Works Ministry said.

This returning stability to the market was reflected in the number of new housing start licences, which reached 34,873 last year – a 1.7 per cent increase on the previous year.

This confirmation of the market’s recovery could not be better timed. With Spain facing a general election this year, there is a growing sense of optimism across the country as jobs return, wages begin to rise and the tough years between 2008 and 2012 begin to fade to memory.

In real estate terms, this recovery is incredibly important – not only to industry professionals but also the average Spaniard and foreign investor, too. The General Price Index of Spain shows that homes lost around 31 per cent of their value over the course of the crisis, so any sustained increase in prices, particularly at such a slow pace, is to be warmly welcomed.