Spanish property records 5.6% price increase in second quarter

Home values across Spain vary, and so too do annual price fluctuations, but as a national average the trend is positive.

Attaining an accurate, tell-all figure that provides a snapshot of Spanish property prices is no easy task. Aside from the regional variation, there are also a number of different metrics being used, ranging from average mortgage loan values to recorded transaction prices…

But one of the more accurate metrics is price per square metre of residential property. This data is monitored by the Spanish government’s central statistics unit, and last week they revealed that between April 1 and June 30 – the second quarter of the year – the average price of Spanish property per square metre was 5.6% higher than at the same point last year.

As expected, of course, some regions saw sharper price increases than others. Encouragingly, all but one (Asturias) of the 17 regions of Spain registered an increase in property prices, with Madrid and Catalonia leading the way with 10.9% and 9.3% rises, respectively.

At the other end of the scale, Castilla-La Mancha saw an increase of just 0.8%, with Murcia (0.3%) and Extremadura (0.4%) propping up the table.

This national increase is slap-bang in the middle of the 4-7% annual increases predicted by leading Spanish banks last week, and reflects the general rude health of Spain’s property market, which is also seeing steady increases in the number of sales.