Spanish house prices up for first time since 2008

Spanish house prices have risen, according to new figures from TINS that highlight the momentum building behind the country's property recovery.

The valuation firm's figures show that the average national house price rose 0.4 per cent in October 2015 year-on-year, the first time that the index has recorded annual growth since 2008.

The price rise was fuelled by the traditional favourites of the Canaries and the Balearics (4.2 per cent and 3.6 per cent respectively), which have rebounded from the recession at a faster rate than the mainland in recent months, while popular tourist hotspots on the Mediterranean Coast saw prices climb 3.6 per cent. Values also increased in Barcelona and Madrid, albeit marginally, enough to take the overall average into the positive for the first time in years.

There is still some way to go, however, as the country's unemployment levels continue to hinder domestic demand for property and the market still has a large number of unsold homes that will hold back price growth for some time. Indeed, new figures from the General Council of Notaries show that prices fell in August 2015, with values down 3.4 per cent year-on-year, despite a rise in sales of 7.3 per cent - a sign that supply is being consumed, but still sizeable enough to weigh down values.

If local buyers are absent, though, foreign buyers have not shied away from driving the country's recovery. Official figures from the Ministry of Development show that property transactions in Spain were up 22.11 per cent in Q2 2015 on the previous quarter and up 13.91 per cent annually, with overseas investors accounting for between 15 per cent and 20 per cent of transactions.

"Overseas buyers remain a core component of the Spanish real estate sector's recovery," comments Kyero.com's Martin Dell. "We saw an initial surge in foreign buyers looking to pick up properties at rock bottom prices. Now, it's more about buyers who are attracted to the increased stability of the Spanish market once more, though of course great prices also remain a key draw. It's a customer group that's going to remain important to Spanish real estate agents well into 2016 and beyond."

The steady growth in demand from abroad, and the gradually improving overall picture is causing confidence to spread through the Spanish industry. The latest Agent Confidence Survey from Kyero shows that of the 408 Spanish-speaking and English-speaking agents interviewed by the portal, 74.3 per cent reported feeling more confident now that they did this time last year. A further 22.1 per cent reported feeling the same level of confidence.

At the same time, a high volume of agents also reported a rise in sales over the past year, with 58.1 per cent reporting an increase and a further 36 per cent reporting the same level of sales as this time last year.