The price of housing puts the brakes on at the beginning of the year: it falls by 0.1% due to inflation and the rise in mortgages

The signs of slowdown in the real estate market are increasingly visible.

The moderation in sales, visas and mortgages has begun to permeate prices, which are already slowing their rate of rise at the start of the year.

In February,

, although the decline was greater in various parts of the country.

This is reflected in the

IMIE General and Large Markets statistics referring to the second month of the year, which analyzes the evolution of the cost of new and used housing.

In its latest balance sheet, it confirms the downward trend that began in the last quarter of 2022, when the impact of inflation on the purchasing power of families and the increase in mortgage prices due to the rise in rates have accelerated the moderation of the sector, mainly because of its effect on demand.

"The accumulated erosion of inflation in the purchasing power of households and the increase in the cost of financing limits general demand, especially in those households with lower incomes," says Cristina Arias, director of Tinsa's Research

.

According to the data from the appraisal firm, the adjustment experienced by housing last month was more notorious in properties on the Mediterranean coast (-0.8% per month) and in smaller towns in the interior and on the Atlantic coast. , grouped under the heading 'Rest of municipalities', where the monthly fall was 0.5%.

In the 'Capitals and large cities' and in the 'Metropolitan areas', the price hardly registered any variation between January and February (-0.1%).

The lack of supply continues to hold back the declines in large urban centers, where the explosion of demand in recent years makes the

available for sale insufficient.

Even so, economic uncertainty and difficulties in accessing a home loan have begun to dampen the interest of potential buyers and the sector warns that moderation will increase as 2023 progresses.

annual rise

However, the year-on-year balance remains positive.

According to Tinsa, due to the increase in housing prices during 2022, especially in the first semester, all the groups analyzed maintain average values ​​higher than those of the same month of the previous year.

"The 'Metropolitan areas' stand out with the highest year-on-year growth, 7.9%, followed by the 'Capitals and large cities' (+6.5%). Below the average growth of the General Index are 'Other municipalities ' (+6%), the 'Mediterranean Coast' (+4.5%) and 'Islands' (+3.4%)", point out the data published this Monday.

The annual trend coincides with the conclusions of the real estate portal

.

In his case, the analysis focuses on

, in which the year-on-year increase and the stagnation at a monthly level also stand out.

In February, the prices of used houses rose an average of 1.2%, to 2,086 euros per square meter.

The rise was more pronounced in the Balearic Islands, where it reached 3.1% to reach a level of 3,466 euros per square meter.

In Navarra, prices rose by 2.2%;

in Andalusia, 1.5%;

in Madrid, 0.1% and in Catalonia, 1.2%.

On the contrary, in Castilla-La Mancha they fell by 0.7%;

0.1% in Castilla y León and 0.3% in Asturias.

However, on a year-on-year basis, the second-hand property market continues to show signs of its resilience.

Prices in this case shot up 9.9% in relation to February 2022, which is the highest increase detected since August 2006.

"The price of housing is close to a year-on-year rise of practically two digits. It is a record increase and represents the greatest acceleration in the last 17 years, since the Fotocasa Index has records. This rise places us at levels similar to 2006, in which warming period prior to the real estate bubble.This acceleration is caused by the change in monetary policy due to the rise in interest rates by the ECB, which has caused the demand for purchases to resurface and put pressure on prices due to shortages At Fotocasa we consider that these increases are temporary, that it is a matter of time before the price begins to show signs of moderation and that it returns to a stable path, taking into account the rate of increase in mortgage prices caused by the Euribor", explains

, Director of Studies and spokesperson for Fotocasa.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

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