Spain's housing prices increase by 4% in the second quarter

Spanish housing prices rose by 4 percent in the second quarter of the year in comparison with the same period of a year earlier, according to data published Tuesday by Spain's Statistical Office (INE).

According to INE, prices of new houses increased by 4.9 percent year-on-year while prices of second-hand houses rose by 3.8 percent when compared with the same quarter in 2014.

From the second quarter to the third quarter, housing prices increased by 4.2 percent, with prices of new houses rising by 1.5 percent and those of second-hand houses rising by 4.6 percent.

Spain's housing prices, which started falling in the second quarter in 2008 when the financial crisis began, recorded a rise for the first time in the second quarter on 2014, after 24 months of falls.

They fell by 1.5 percent in 2008 on a year-on-year basis, to continue falling in 2009, 2010 and 2011 when they fell by 6.7 percent, 2 percent and 7.4 percent respectively. The biggest falls in prices were registered in 2012 and 2013 when housing prices fell by 13.7 percent and 10.6 percent respectively.