Spanish Property Prices at 2005 Levels
Tuesday, April 27, 2010 @ 12:17 PM
According to house price statistics released today by the Ministry of Housing, in the first quarter of 2010 the average price of property in Spain was 1865.7 euros per square metre, representing a decrease of 1.4% in respect to the previous quarter and 4.7% when compared annually.
The annual drop of 4.7% represents a moderation of 1.6 percent compared to the decline of 6.3% recorded at the end of 2009. Furthermore, between January and March the price of property fell 1.4% compared with the last quarter of 2009. With these declines, the price of Spanish housing is now at the lowest levels experienced since 2005.
In the first three months of the year, the price of new houses (up to two years old) stood at 1869.9 euros per square meter, representing an annual fall of 4.6% and 1.6% quarterly over the same period of 2009. Meanwhile, the price of a resale property in Spain (more than two years old), was 1863.4 euros per square meter, a decrease of 4.8% year on year and 0.8% quarterly.
As a comparison, the square meter price of social housing (VPO) stood at 1133.4 euros in the first quarter, representing a 0.8% increase over the end of last year and an annual increase of 1.9%. Taking into account these VPO statistics, the overall house price in the first quarter of 2010 experienced a decrease of 4.5% in annual terms, while the quarterly rate index had a decrease of 1.3%.
The data also revealed the most expensive and the cheapest property in Spain: For towns with more than 25,000 inhabitants, the most expensive place to buy property in Spain was San Sebastian (3644.5 euros per square metre), followed by Barcelona (3441.6 euros), property in Sant Cugat del Vallés (3328.8 euros), Madrid (3296.3 euros) and Getxo (3267.7 euros). At the other end of the scale, the lowest prices were found in Hellin (772.7 euros), Tomelloso (797.8 euros), Elda (880.5 euros), Ontiyent (884.2 euros) and Villarrobledo (886 euros).
Source: Kyero.com