House prices record their biggest jump since before the pandemic, almost 7%

Gesvalt has just published our latest Housing Report for quarter three of 2024. The study has been carried out by the company’s Research Department using our own data, and it reflects a 6.9% rise in house prices compared to the same period last year.

This is the fourteenth consecutive periodic increase and the highest since before the pandemic, breaking a trend of moderate rise of below 3% that has been the norm over the previous 9 months. Despite this acceleration in residential price growth, our experts underline that the general trend continues to towards stabilization, with a more moderate rise in prices. In fact, while the number of sales and purchases has risen by 3.3% compared to 2023, other indicators, such as mortgages granted, remain at lower levels than the previous year – some 5% fewer.

Prices have also increased compared to the previous quarter, up 2.9% for the second consecutive period, consolidating the market reactivation noted between April and June after several periods with growth sitting at below 2%.

As a result, the average house price stood at €1,658/m2, some 29.9% below the all-time high recorded in the fourth quarter of 2007. This new price cuts the difference from the all-time figure by two points, to sit below the 30% mark. It also means an average-value property with a surface area of 90m², which would have been worth €138,520 last year, would now cost €149,220 to purchase.

Rising house prices have been generalised across all regions, with no exceptions, for the fifth consecutive quarter. Furthermore, said increase has been greater than 3% in all regions for the first time, with Asturias a sole exception, witnessing a rise of 1.5%. At the top of the table, as has become a trend, are the island territories. Together with the Region of Murcia, these are the only regions to see year-on-year increases of over 10%. The Canary Islands led the ranking with an increase that doubled the national average, at 14.1%. The Balearic Islands recorded a rise of 11.5%, moving further ahead of the Community of Madrid (2,692€/m2) and the Basque Country (2,437€/m2) as the region with the highest price per square metre – €3,030, eclipsing €3,000 for the first time. These three regions are the only ones to exceed a price of €2,000/m2. At the other end of the table, as the only autonomous communities with an average per-square-metre price that fails to reach the €1,000-mark, are Extremadura, with €874/m2, and Castilla La Mancha, with €933/m2.

Six autonomous communities above 8%

In line with previous periods, this quarter has seen a further rise in territorial differences in house price growth, despite the increase being generalised across all areas. The increases in the Canary Islands (14.1%), the Balearic Islands (11.5%), Murcia (10.3%), Andalusia (9.4%), Cantabria (9.2%) and the Valencian Community (8.7%) are the most notable. On the other hand, the regions with the lowest increases were Asturias (1.5%), the only region where the price did not increase by more than 3%, Extremadura (3.2%), Galicia (3.4%) and Castilla y León (3.9%).

On a provincial level, the standout increases in year-on-year property prices come in Santa Cruz de Tenerife (+15.5%), Las Palmas (+12.9%), Alicante (+11.9%), Baleares (+11.5%) and Segovia (+10.8%). These are the only areas to record increases of above 10% compared to the same period last year. There has been no fall in house prices in any province.

Meanwhile, the provinces with the highest prices continue to show stable performance. These include the Balearic Islands (€3,030 /m²), Gipuzkoa (€2,903 /m²), Madrid (€2,692 /m²), Malaga (€2,476 /m²), Vizcaya (€2,010 /m²) all maintaining values above 2,000 €/m². On the other hand, just like in the second quarter of 2024, we see fifteen provinces with a unit value below €1,000 /m². The most affordable housing is located in Ciudad Real (€656 /m²), Cuenca (€769 /m²) and Jaén (€818 /m²).

Rental trend continues steady rise

Despite the increase in the number of acquisitions and the general rise in house prices, the rental market has shown no signs of slowing. In fact, its growth is even outpacing sales and purchases. As was the case in the previous quarter, seven provinces recorded price rises of more than 15%. The largest jumps came in Soria (+18.9%), Cuenca (+18.1%), and Valencia (+17.8%), which sits at the top of this ranking for the second successive period. On the other hand, Huelva was the only province with a negative year-on-year figure (-0.3%).

In absolute figures, Barcelona remains the province with the highest rents, at an average of €21.97/m²/month, followed by Madrid and the Balearic Islands, which this quarter have average rental values of €19.42 and €19.06 €/m²/month. At the other end of the scale, Jaén (€5.39/m²/month), Teruel (€5.67/m²/month) and Ciudad Real (€5.90/m²/month) are the most affordable options.