Property values fall in Spain, research shows

Spanish home sales to overseas buyers could be set to rise following news that property values in the country fell for the tenth quarter.

The Housing Ministry noted that the average price of houses and apartments in the country dropped by 4.6 per cent in the first three months of 2011, Bloomberg reported.

This compared to a 2.5 per cent decline from the previous quarter, the ministry said.

Spain currently has the highest unemployment rate in Europe following two years of recession.

The news provider added that the country also boasts the highest ratio of outstanding floating-rate mortgage loans in the region, according to statistics compiled by the European Mortgage Federation.

"Rate rises discourage buyers and sellers dropped asking prices before rates increased to encourage sales," said Fernando Encinar, head of research at Idealista.com.

Meanwhile, the number of approvals for new homes in Spain increased by seven per cent in January compared to the previous year, the latest statistics from the Spanish government revealed.

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