Housing prices in Catalonia increase by 1.6% in the second quarter
The value of homes in Catalonia increased by 1.6% during the second quarter of this year compared to the same period in 2013, according to the House Price Index of the Spanish Institute of Statistics (INE). In relation to the first quarter of this year, prices registered a 1.8% increase between March and June, whilst cumulatively over this year there was a 1.3% increase in property value in Catalonia. However, the prices of new flats rose by 8.7%, whilst second hand properties only saw a 0.1% growth in their value. In Spain as a whole, the House Price Index reached a 0.8% rate in annual terms, the first time this has happened at Spanish level since March 2008.
Madrid (ACN).- The price of homes in Catalonia increased by 1.6% during the second quarter of this year compared to the same period in 2013, according to the House Price Index of the Spanish Institute of Statistics (INE). In relation to the first quarter of this year, prices registered a 1.8% increase between March and June, whilst cumulatively across this year there was a 1.3% increase in property value in Catalonia. However, different types of housing registered very different increases in worth, with the prices of new flats rising by 8.7%, whilst second hand properties only saw a 0.1% growth in their value in the second quarter. In Spain as a whole, the House Price Index reached a 0.8% rate in annual terms, the first time this has happened at Spanish level since March 2008.
The increase in the price of housing in Catalonia in the second quarter of this year broke the downward trend of recent years, with the exception of the third quarter of 2013 when there was a rise of 0.8%.
Between March and June of this year, housing prices in the Autonomous Community rose by 1.8% in comparison with the previous quarter, and increased 1.3% cumulatively between January and June 2014 compared to the same period in 2013. The rise in prices has been driven by the increase in the construction of new homes, which saw an 8.7% rise in their worth in the second quarter, compared to the 2.2% increase in the first. In contrast, second hand homes only witnessed a 0.1% rise in their value.
The Spanish housing market is also improving
In Spain as a whole, the annual difference in the House Price Index in the second quarter of 2014 showed an increase that gets the housing market out of the red and into the black. Prices passed from -1.6% during the first quarter to +0.8% in the second one, compared to the same period from 2013. This was the first positive annual rate recorded by this indicator since the first quarter of 2008.
In terms of the difference in statistics by the type of property, the annual rate of new house prices stood at 1.9%. This was the first time this statistic had appeared in positive figures since the fourth quarter of 2008. Second hand properties also registered an increase in price, this time of 0.2%, the highest amount since the fourth quarter of 2007.