House prices slow down due to political situation between Catalonia and Spain

House prices in Catalonia have slowed down due to the ongoing political crisis in the country, according to a market valuation released by the housing price index company Tinsa, but are continuing to rise. 

Jorge Ripoll, the director of Tinsa, said that they “are waiting for the electoral date” to further evaluate the impact of the crisis between Spain and Catalonia.

Throughout Spain as a whole, house prices did actually rise throughout the year, specifically in the major cities. However, despite this increase, prices are still 38.9% lower than they were in 2007.

In big cities prices in November prices increased by 5.9%, in the Balearic and Canary Islands, this increase was 6.8%. The growth of the whole of the housing market grew by 4% in November in Spain.

The Tinsa index is calculated based on the appraisals of finished houses. It gathers data on a monthly basis regarding the annual variation of the value per square meter of a property with a classification that takes into account capitals and large cities, metropolitan areas, the Mediterranean coast, the Balearic Islands and the Canary Islands and the other municipalities.

The rate of the annual variation of the housing price index in Catalonia increased by 10% in the third quarter of the year, according to Spain’s National Institute of Statistics. This is the biggest increase for this period since the boom of 2007, despite the slowdown in November “as a result of the political situation.”