Independent and accurate property prices in Spain
July 3rd, 2009
According to the Q2 2009 Spanish House Price Index from Kyero.com, the average asking price of a Spanish property has decreased by 2% from Q1.
Download the latest Spanish House Price Index. It's updated and published quarterly to evaluate the advertised prices of 100,000 Spanish properties.
Lugo province leads the way with asking prices dropping by almost 16% quarter-on quarter and almost 30% year-on-year
| Provinces with decreasing prices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Province | Q1/Q2 2009 | Q2 2008/2009 |
| Lugo | -15.8% | -29.2% |
| Barcelona | -12.85 | -0.8% |
| Sevilla | -5.1% | -27.1% |
| Cordoba | -4.6% | -9.0% |
| Valencia | -3.6% | -12.8% |
| Pontevedra | -3.2% | -22.3% |
| Teruel | -2.9% | -27.8% |
| Murcia | -2.6% | -6.3% |
| Alicante | -2.4% | -3.1% |
| Coruna | -1.6% | -1.2% |
| Almeria | -1.6% | -6.9% |
| Granada | -1.1% | -1.2% |
| Castellon | -0.8% | -5.1% |
| Jaen | -0.6% | -3.1% |
| Badajoz | -0.5% | -9.9% |
While the average asking price has dropped significantly in many provinces - a welcome and necessary move - some have actually recorded price increases.
| Provinces with increasing prices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Province | Q1/Q2 2009 | Q2 2008/2009 |
| Fuerteventura | +11.0% | +4.9% |
| Asturias | +5.3% | +15.6% |
| Huelva | +4.8% | +8.4% |
| Malaga | +3.4% | +6.7% |
| Tenerife | +1.6% | +0.9% |
It's difficult to justify why asking prices in these areas appear to be increasing - especially when common sense and first-hand experience tells us that actual sales vales are dropping. In all likelihood, there are two factors at play:
- Vendors are not dropping asking prices to leave more room to negotiate a higher final sales price
- Much of the property stock is 'stale' and is being left on the market at unrealisticly high prices
Loosely correlating these house price trends with the latest Kyero.com enquiry report, it appears that neither of these tactics of artificially inflating house prices is effective.
Potential buyers are seeking, finding and enquiring about properties which they judge as representing good value. For this category of Spanish property, there appears to be no shortage of potential buyers.
I double-checked this theory with a local estate agent who will only market a property if he believes it to be competitively priced.
He cited a recent sale where the property was on the market for just two weeks, and received two asking-price offers in that time. The particular resale property was nothing special - just competitively priced.
I asked him whether he was losing business by turning away vendors who have unrealistic price expectations. He smiled and said "My commission on a property I can't sell is precisely zero. With my marketing expenses, I actually save money by not accepting these properties."
In the Spanish property market where the lack of official house price data actively stifles buyer confidence, a savvy vendor can gain an advantage by pricing their property competitively, and being willing and able to justify that asking price.
In today's connected property market which provides freedom and ease of access to information, the old tactics of double the price and offer a 50% discount are no longer effective - just ask any property buyer.
Martin Dell, Kyero.com
Download the latest Spanish House Price Index. It's updated and published quarterly to evaluate the advertised prices of 100,000 Spanish properties. |
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Winner of the 2008 & 2007 CNBC award for Best Property Portal Spain and 2007 Best International Property Portal, Kyero.com is the leading web site connecting buyers and sellers of Spanish property. Featuring 100,000 properties from 1,500 estate agents, Kyero.com is privately owned and based in southern Spain.
Kyero.com was the first dedicated Spanish property portal to join the Association of International Property Professionals (AIPP), a consumer association setting standards and protecting buyers of overseas property.
Each quarter Kyero.com collates pricing information from thousands of properties to produce the Spanish House Price Index
