Decline in Spain’s House Prices Biggest in the Eurozone

The price of housing in Spain experienced a drop of 10.6% in the second quarter, year-on-year, the highest amongst the countries of the eurozone, according to data released last week by Eurostat. However, this decline represents a slowdown compared with the year-on-year fall of 12.8% recorded in the first three months of 2013.

Data from the EU statistics office shows a fall of 0.8% in the house prices in Spain, compared to the first quarter of the year, when they fell by 5.1%, behind only the 2% quarterly decline recorded in the Netherlands. In fact, the quarterly decline in housing prices seen in the second quarter, the 12th consecutive negative quarter, is the lowest since the fourth quarter of 2010, when prices fell by 0.1%.

Over the whole of the eurozone, housing prices experienced a decline in the second quarter of 2.2%, year-on-year, two tenths less than that recorded in the first quarter. However, in quarterly terms, housing prices rose by 0.3% after falling by 1.4% in the first three months of the year, representing the first price increase since the third quarter of 2011.

Prices in Spain are bottoming out, is now the time to invest?

Meanwhile, El Pais reported that the figure for the EU showed a fall of 1.3% in annual terms, two tenths less than the decline observed in the first three months of the year, while compared with the first quarter, the prices increased by 0.4%.

Among the EU countries for which data are available, the largest annual price increases were registered in Latvia (+8.8%), Estonia (+8.1%) and Luxembourg (+5.1%), while the steepest declines were recorded for Croatia (-19.7%), Spain (-10.6%) and the Netherlands (-7.5%). Compared with the first quarter, the biggest price increases were registered in Latvia (+5.1%), Estonia (+3.7%) and Denmark (+3.1%), while the most notable declines were for Croatia (-6.5%), the Netherlands (-2%) and Hungary (-0.9%)

Article source: Kyero.com

Decline in Home Resale Prices Slows For First Time Since Crisis

The average price of a second-hand home stood at 1,762 euros per square metre at the end of the third quarter of the year, maintaining the same value as in the previous three months, and slowing for the first time the continued decline recorded since the beginning of the crisis, according to the latest report prepared by fotocasa.es in conjunction with the IESE business school.

Specifically, this price stabilisation contrasts with the results of the previous quarter (-3.8%), and breaks the chain of 24 consecutive quarters of declines registered in the price of second-hand housing since the crisis erupted in September 2007.

In monthly terms, Diario Sur reported that the price of used homes fell by 9.4% in September compared with the same month of 2012. However, this data presents a moderation of the year-on-year declines of previous months, when they registered decreases of up to 11%.

The report’s house price analysis shows that nine regions registered increases in the price of second-hand housing in the third quarter. Specifically, increases were noted for Valencia (1.3%), the Canary Islands (1.2%), Castilla-La Mancha (1.1%), Cantabria (0.9%), the Balearic Islands (0.6%), Madrid (0.6%), Murcia (0.3%), Aragon (0.3%) and La Rioja (0.3%). In contrast, prices dropped in the other eight regions, with the steepest decline being registered in Extremadura, of 2.5%, and the smallest in Catalonia (-0.2%).

Prices for all types of housing dropped down slightly in the last three months of the year, (by between 0.1% and 0.3%), except for those of the larger properties (of between 150 and 300 square metres) which rose by 0.4%.

Article source: Kyero.com

House prices continued to fall in August

Property prices continue to fall

According to new figures released by Tinsa, house prices continued to drop in August with an 11.6% decrease, compared to the same period last year.

The press release from Tinsa is below.

Prices along the Mediterranean Coast have now fallen by an average of 40% from their highest levels.

The Major Cities segment is experiencing greater downward pressure on prices.

The General IMIE index recorded a year-on-year decline of 11.6%, slightly higher than the fall recorded in July, ending the month at 1545 points. The cumulative decline in house prices since the market peak in December 2007 is 32.4%.

The breakdown by segment shows that the “Mediterranean Coast” recorded the highest year-onyear fall in August, of 14.7%, followed by “Capitals and Major Cities”, which saw a 13.4% decline in value compared with the same month the year before.

The fall experienced in the “Balearic and Canary Islands” was slightly below the average, at 11.5%. An even smaller decline was recorded by “Metropolitan Areas”, where the year-on-year fall stood at 10.4%, and lastly “Other Municipalities”, with a fall of 8.8%, even lower than the figure recorded in July.

With regards to the cumulative falls by segment since the top of the market, the “Mediterranean Coast” is once again the biggest faller, with a decline of 39.5%; followed by “Capitals and Major Cities” with 35.6%, “Metropolitan Areas” with 31.4%, the “Balearic and Canary Islands” with 30.2% and “Other Municipalities”, which refers to those not included in other categories, with 27.4%.

You can download the press release here: IMIE House Price Index – August 2012

House prices continue fall in Q2

The price fall continues unabated

House prices in Spain fell during the second quarter by 11.5% compared to the same period in the previous year, up from 9.2% in the previous quarter.

The report, from Tinsa, shows that the majority of the autonomous regions followed the downward trend with La Rioja recording the greatest fall of 22.6%, bringing the prices back to 2003 levels. Catalonia followed with an 18% decline, followed by Aragon (-16.3%), Valencia (-14%), Castilla-La Mancha (-13.8%) and Madrid (-13.8%).

Staying within a few points of the national average were Castilla y León (-11.8%), Andalusia (-11.6%), Navarra (-11.5%), Murcia (-10.8%), the Canary Islands (-10.6%) and the Balearic Islands (-10.5%). The areas least affected by the decline in prices include Extremadura (-10.1%), Galicia (-6.2%), Asturias (-5.2%), Ceuta (-4%), Cantabria (-3.6%) and Melilla (-3.3%).

On a provincial level a more pronounced decline was recorded with above average falls in Tarragona (19%), Toledo (-18.7%), Zaragoza (-18.6%), Almeria (18.1%) and Segovia (18%).

At the other end of the scale a few regions registered smaller declines, or none at all, including Basin (-0.1%) and Orense (0%). Lugo is the only province that, provisionally, shows a slight rise of 2.1%.

Looking at the cumulative decline in prices since the crisis first hit in 2007 the north-east corner of the country stands out with the largest falls recorded (in addition to La Rioja) in Catalonia (-39.3%), Aragon (-37.8%) and Valencia (-36.2%).

Included in this group, although located in the central zone, and with prices influenced by Madrid, is Castilla-La Mancha where the cumulative decline from 2007 now stands at 38.9%.

The cumulative decline now stands at over 40% in a number of provinces including Toledo (-43.1%), Guadalajara (-41.1%), Zaragoza (-40.4%), Tarragona (-40.2%) and Barcelona (-40%). Also on the verge of joining the over-40% group are Almeria (-39.2%), Malaga (-39.1%), Girona (-37.2%) and Valencia (-37.2%).

Conversely, the provinces that showed lower cumulative declines were those with lower population density and a slow second-home market, mainly in the north-west quadrant. Those provinces include Soria (-13.8%), Zamora (-10.2%), Orense (-6.5%) and Lugo (-5.7%).

You can download Tinsa’s complete report here (ES): Tinsa Market Report Q2 2012

Property sales volume down 3.8% in May

Sales figures still falling

The number of property sales in May 2012 was down 3.8% compared to the same month of the previous year. On a year-on-year basis the number fell by 11.6%.

This is according to figures released by the National Institute of Statistics.

The number of property transfers recorded in the land registries, from public deeds previously registered, was 141,719 in May, that is, 3.8% less than for the same month in 2011, and 21.1% higher than in April 2012.

In the case of registered merchantings of property, the number of transfers was 60,003, representing an interannual decrease of 11.6%, and a decrease of 22.9%, as compared with the previous month.

Merchantings recorded in the land registries

84.6% of the registered merchantings corresponded to urban properties and 15.4% to rustic properties. Among the urban properties, 53.7% were merchantings of dwellings.

The number of merchantings of rustic properties decreased 1.8% in the interannual rate in May, while that of urban properties decreased 13.2%. Within the latter, merchantings of dwellings decreased 11.6%.

Registered merchantings of dwellings, by protection system and status

89.5% of transfers of dwellings by merchanting in May were free housing, and 10.5% were protected housing. In interannual terms, the number of transfers of free dwellings by merchanting decreased 8.4% and that of protected dwellings decreased 31.5%.

48.0% of the dwellings transferred by merchanting in May were new, and 52.0% were used. The number of transactions on new dwellings decreased 10.3%, and the number of used dwellings decreased 12.7%, as compared with May 2011.

Geographical distribution

In May 2012, the total number of property transfers recorded in the land registries per 100,000 inhabitants¹ was highest in the Autonomous Communities of Castilla y Leon (664) and Aragón (601).

The Autonomous Communities showing the highest number of registered merchantings of property per 100,000 inhabitants¹ were Castilla-La Mancha and La Rioja (both with 235).

By registered merchantings of dwellings, the Autonomous Communities in which the number of transfers per 100,000 inhabitants¹ was highest were Comunitat Valenciana (103) and Andalucía (90).

62.1% of merchantings of dwellings in May 2012 were recorded in four Autonomous Communities: Andalucía, Comunitat Valenciana, Cataluña and Comunidad de Madrid.

You can download the press release here: Statistics on Transfer of Property Rights – May 2012

¹ This data was calculated from the revision of the figures of the Municipal Register for the year 2011. Only the population aged 18 to 84 years old was considered.

Construction of new homes slowing

New home construction still slow

According to data released by the Ministry of Public Works the number of new homes completed in the first quarter of the year stood at 30,151, representing a decrease of 31.4%, compared to the same period in 2011.

Private developers accounted for 29,630 of the total, or 98.2%, with the government making up the difference.

Of the private constructions 18,617 were commercial properties showing an interannual decrease f 41.1%. Individuals and communities accounted for 8,005 constructions, down 3.4% on the year. Cooperatives accounted for 2,068, a 10.1% increase and there were also 940 completion certificates granted for other private promoter works.

The liquidation value of the execution of these constructions fell by 18.4% to 3,766 million euros.

Spain has recorded four consecutive years of decline in property construction. Since the peak in 2007 figures show a cumulative fall of 74%. In 2007 there were 641,419 new properties completed, compared to 167,914 in 2011.

House prices down in May

TINSA have released their IMIE Index figures for May showing a decline of 11.1% year-on-year.

“The year-on-year variation in house prices in May recorded a modest slowdown in the trend of recent months”

The General IMIE Index fell during May in year-on-year terms, with a decline of 11.1% and an Index level of 1595 points, after falling below the 1600 barrier. The cumulative decline in house prices from the peak of the market in December 2007 reached a low-point increasing by four tenths to 30.2%.

In terms of the different segments, the municipalities of the “Mediterranean Coast” once again recorded the sharpest year-on-year decline during May with a fall of 14.1%, closely followed by “Capitals and Major Cities” which fell by 13.3% and “Metropolitan Areas” by 11.8% compared to the same month the previous year. The decline was greater than the market average in all three areas.

Once again “Other Municipalities” were below the average with a year-on-year decline of 8.4%, followed by the “Balearic and Canary Islands” in last place with a fall of 6%.

In relation to the overall decline from the top of the market, the “Mediterranean Coast” recorded a fall of 37.9% to May; followed by “Capitals and Major Cities” with 32.9%, “Metropolitan Areas” with 31.2%, “Other Municipalities” with 25.9% and lastly “Balearic and Canary Islands” with 24.1%.

Read the full IMIE May Index 2012 at Tinsa.

Tourism down in April but up for the year

Spain saw 4.5 million tourists in April

According to the latest report from Frontur, Spain received 4.5 million tourists in April, 1.7% fewer than the same month in 2011.

Despite the fall in April the first four months of 2012 saw 13.7 million visitors visit Spain, representing a 1.1% annual increase.

Of the total tourists in April over 3.5 million of them arrived by air and three million stayed in hotels.

The majority of tourists were from Britain and the Nordic regions, whilst the number of French and German tourists also increased. However, the number of Britons arriving fell following two months of increases.

Just over one million tourists were British, yet this was 13% fewer than in the same month last year, showing that Brits are sacrificing their foreign holidays in favour of cheaper English holidays which are being heavily promoted on English television.

By region  Catalonia and Madrid were the only ones to see an increase. All other regions registered a fall in tourist numbers with the largest fall being in Valencia which saw 17.6% fewer tourists.

The number of package holidays also declined in April recording a fall of -1.9%.

The figures are similar to those of April 2009. The figures for 2010 and 2011 were unreliable as they were distorted by a few factors. In 2010 huge numbers of flights were cancelled across Europe due to the Icelandic volcano, and in 2011 the so-called “Arab Spring” saw many people choosing Spain over Turkey and Egypt.

You can see Frotur’s full report here: Nota de coyuntura de Frontur. Abril 2012.

Property sales decreased 12.8% in March

The National Statistics Institute (INE) have released data showing the number of property transfers in March decreased 12.8%, compared to the same period in 20122.

The number of property transfers recorded in the land registries, from public deeds previously registered, was 146,303 in March, that is, 12.8% less than for the same month in 2011, and 2.7% lower than in February 2012.

In the case of registered merchantings of property, the number of transfers was 58,536, representing an interannual decrease of 20.0%, and a decrease of 12.9%, as compared with the previous month.

Merchantings recorded in the land registries

83.4% of the registered merchantings corresponded to urban properties and 16.6% to rustic properties. Among the urban properties, 52.1% were merchantings of dwellings.

The number of merchantings of rustic properties decreased 10.5% in the interannual rate in March, while that of urban properties decreased 21.7%. Within the latter, merchantings of dwellings decreased 22.7%.

Registered merchantings of dwellings, by protection system and status

86.7% of transfers of dwellings by merchanting in March were free housing, and 13.3% were protected housing. In interannual terms, the number of transfers of free dwellings by merchanting decreased 20.9% and that of protected dwellings decreased 32.8%.

47.9% of the dwellings transferred by merchanting in March were new, and 52.1% were used. The number of transactions on new dwellings decreased 24.3%, and the number of used dwellings decreased 21.3%, as compared with March 2011.

Geographical distribution

In March 2012, the total number of property transfers recorded in the land registries per 100,000 inhabitants¹ was highest in the Autonomous Communities of Extremadura (687), and La Rioja (640).

The Autonomous Communities showing the highest number of registered merchantings of property per 100,000 inhabitants¹ were La Rioja (278) and Castilla-La Mancha (253).

By registered merchantings of dwellings, the Autonomous Communities in which the number of transfers per 100,000 inhabitants¹ was highest were Canarias (87) and Comunidad Foral de Navarra (87).

58.4% of merchantings of dwellings in March 2012 were recorded in four Autonomous Communities: Andalucía, Comunidad de Madrid, Comunitat Valenciana and Cataluña.

You can download the full press release here: Statistics on Transfer of Property Rights – March 2012

¹ This data was calculated from the revision of the figures of the Municipal Register for the year 2011. Only the population aged 18 to 84 years old was considered.

Unemployment fell in April

The number of jobless in Spain fell in April for the first time in nine months, according to figures released today by the Labour Ministry.

The number of people registering for unemployment benefit fell by 6,632 to 4.74 million. This follows an increase of 38,769 in the previous month.

However, these figures are some way off those provided by the National Statistics Institute last month. Their report put the number of unemployed at 5,639,500, almost a million more than today’s figure.

Many are putting the decline down to the Easter holiday which traditionally attracts thousands of tourists to join in the carnival. This creates extra business for local traders and this creates a need for temporary staff. Also, the summer season is upon us and many temporary jobs are being filled, removing people from the jobless statistics.

However, those temporary jobs are often paid in cash while the employee remains registered as unemployed creating misleading figures.

It’s nice to see some good news about Spain but I will wait to see what the National Statistics Institute has to say in their next report before I get too excited. Their numbers are more widely recognised as accurate and analysts watch them closely.