TW

According to its latest survey of house prices, the website Fotocasa reports that the price of second hand properties in Spain went up 2.4% during the third quarter to give an average of 1,849 euros per square metre.

The Fotocasa study covers fifty provinces, and for the sake of the study, the Balearic Islands are categorised as a province. It had the highest price increase between July and September - 6.3%. Comparative rises included 6.2% (Soria), 5.1% (Madrid) and 3.1% (Barcelona).

At a regional level, there were price increases in thirteen of the seventeen regions. The Balearics, also obviously a region, was at the top of the list with the 6.3% rise. The 5.1% increase for Madrid applied to the region of Madrid, and somewhat below this was Andalusia with 2.2%. Increases in the Canaries and Catalonia were 1.7%.

In real terms, Madrid had the highest price per square metre - 2,807 euros. The Balearics did not make the top three; the Basque Country (2,764 euros) and Catalonia (2,507 euros) were the other two. The least expensive region was Extremadura with 1,104 euros.

Fotocasa's studies indicate that house prices have risen in Spain as a whole for nine consecutive quarters. The average price of 1,849 euros per square metre is still a long way off the record high of 2,952 euros in the second quarter of 2007.