House prices

The House Price Index (HPI) measures the evolution of market prices of all residential properties that are purchased by households (flats, detached houses, terraced houses, etc.), both new and existing, independently if bought for own-occupancy or as an investment.
According to preliminary estimates, in the fourth quarter of 2017:

• the House Price Index (IPAB) increased by 0.1% compared with the previous quarter and decreased by 0.3% in comparison to the same quarter of the previous year (it was -0.8% in the third quarter of 2017);
• prices of new dwellings increased by 0.7% compared to the previous quarter; they were stable with respect to the same quarter of 2016 (down from +0.5% observed in the third quarter); prices of existing dwellings were stable compared to the previous quarter and decreased by 0.5% with respect to the same quarter of the previous year;
• in 2017, the average annual rate of change of HPI was -0.4%. This sixth consecutive decrease (but the least wide from the first recorded in 2012), was the result on one hand of the slight increase of the prices of new dwellings (+0.1%, the first positive rate of change after four years) and on the other hand of the further decrease of the prices of the existing dwellings (-0.6%).