The latest house prices figures from the National Statistics Institute (INE) show a 5.6% increase in price over the April to June period by comparison with the same three months of 2016. Between the first and second quarter of the year there was a two per cent rise. There have now been thirteen consecutive quarters when house prices have increased.
Manuel Gandarias of pisos.com says that the increase is in line with other recent statistics. He points to Madrid, Catalonia and the Balearics as being the three regions heading the price increase and acting as "spearheads" for recovery in the property market. He adds that it is essential that the price of land for new builds doesn't skyrocket. If it does, then it is highly probable that this will influence sale prices.
The head of research at fotocasa.es, Beatriz Toribio, believes that there was greater market intensity than seen for a long time during the first half of 2017. She adds, however, that this marks a trend back to a normalisation of the market. Toribio notes that the INE's numbers cannot be generalised as prices move at different speeds depending on region. Madrid, Catalonia and the Mediterranean tourism regions are the ones experiencing the highest increases. Other regions are stable or even have slight falls in price.
The fotocasa spokesperson points out that despite the rising prices, they are still - for Spain as a whole - 42% lower than in 2007.