Idealista has reported that the price of used housing in the Region of Murcia rose by 4.6% during the first quarter of the year. With this increase, the square meter has remained at 1,130 euros. In year-on-year terms, the increase is 5.9%, although it is still 36.7% below the highest house price in the Region of Murcia, registered in September 2006.
The city of Murcia has experienced a rise of 5.7% during the winter that left the price at 1,166 euros/m2. In the last year the increase stands at 8.4%.
The municipalities of the Region that experienced the highest price increases are Cehegín (12.2%) and Cieza (12.1%). On the contrary, Puerto Lumbreras (-2.1%) and Bullas (-1%) are the only Murcian municipalities of those analyzed by idealista in which the expectations of sellers have decreased.
La Manga has the most exclusive market in the region (1,657 euros/m2) while Bullas (453 euros/m2) has the cheapest of all those analyzed.
For Francisco Iñareta, spokesman for idealista, “it seems that neither the rise in interest rates nor the increase in the cost of financing have stopped interest in demand, which continues to be very high. Our data indicates that a very important part of buyers already owns another home, which means that the amount they need to finance is less or even zero. Additionally, and contrary to what it might seem, the rises in interest rates and the Euribor are not being transferred so strongly to the price of the new mortgages that are on offer at the moment. Outstanding bank balances are beginning to fall and competition between entities continues to be tough. Furthermore, although the number of operations is beginning to suffer, the available housing stock is still low and housing prices are still maintaining positive variations.
At Idealista we do not contemplate drastic falls in the coming months, although they will of course vary depending on the market. In the most dynamic cities, such as Madrid, Malaga or Alicante, we may see prices remain the same and even continue to increase”.
Despite what some forecasts predicted, the price of used housing in Spain rose by 2.9% during the first quarter of the year. This increase leaves the square meter at 1,943 euros according to the latest idealista price index. Considering the annual variation, prices have increased by 7.3% in the last twelve months
All communities have higher prices than a year ago. Among the provinces, 2 closed the year negatively. In the capitals the evolution has been uneven, since 8 of them have ended the quarter in negative.
In the city of Barcelona, prices have not changed during the winter, which has left the price per square meter at 4,063 euros. Prices are still 5.7% lower than the maximum reached in June 2007.
In Madrid, the expectations of sellers grew by 1.4% during the first three months of the year, which places the price per square meter in the capital at 3,935 euros. In the interannual rate, the price rises 5.2%. Currently the capital marks its historical maximum.
In Valencia, during the winter, the expectations of the owners of homes for sale increased sharply. The rise of 4.7% in the first quarter of the year has left the price per square meter at 2,122 euros. If we compare the prices with those of a year ago, the increase is 11.1%, the same percentage of accumulated fall since the price reached its maximum in February 2008.
There are 8 capitals that have seen how the price of housing fell in the first three months of the year. The greatest fall was registered by Toledo (-2.8%), followed by Tarragona (-2.3%), Cuenca (-1.8%), Melilla (-1.5%), Valladolid (-0.8% ), Ciudad Real (-0.4%), León (-0.4%) and Pamplona (-0.1%). On the contrary, the greatest increases have been registered in Huesca, where they grew by 8%, Teruel (5.8%), Murcia (5.7%), and Soria (5.4%).
San Sebastián is the most expensive Spanish capital (5,191 euros/m2), followed by Barcelona (4,063 euros/m2), Madrid (3,935 euros/m2), Palma (3,531 euros/m2) and Bilbao (3,174 euros/m2). On the opposite side of the table we find Jaén, the cheapest capital, with a price of 1,094 euros/m2.