House prices in Spain fell by 5.6% in the third quarter of the year over the same period in 2010, continuing the downward trend that began at the end of 2008, according to pricing statistics published on Tuesday by the Ministry of Development. In addition, the data shows that the average price per square metre for a house stood at 1,729.3 euros, the lowest figure recorded since the first quarter of 2005, when it reached 1,685.4 euros. Over the previous quarter, this consitutes a fall of 1.3%.

El Pais reported that house prices had a marked fall in the third quarter, of 5.6%, after posting declines of 4.6% in the first quarter and 5.1% in the second. According to the time period of these statistics, the average price per square metre has dropped by 17% in nominal terms since its peak, reached in the first quarter of 2008.

By region, the biggest falls in private housing prices year-on-year were in Aragon, with a price decrease of 8.6%, Madrid (-8.5%), Murcia (-8.3%), Navarra and La Rioja (both with drops of 7.5%). Extremadura, on the other hand, was the only community where the prices rose – by 1% year-on-year, followed by Ceuta and Melilla (with a decrease of -0.3% each), Basque Country (-0.8%), Asturias (-1.3%) and Cantabria (-1.4%).

In the case of social housing, the average price per square metre was 1,158.1 euros, with a variation over the same quarter of 2010 representing a growth of 0.8%. This means that housing prices in Spain overall (taking into account both private and social housing) registered a decrease of 5.5% in the third quarter of the year.