Spain's official house price index rises 12.2%, its 49th straight quarterly increase

Spain's official house price index rose 12.2% in the year to the second quarter of 2026, according to the National Statistics Institute (INE) — a slightly slower pace than the 12.9% recorded in the first quarter, but the 49th consecutive quarter in which prices have risen on an annual basis. That streak stretches back roughly 12 years, making this one of the longest uninterrupted growth cycles in the index's history.

The moderation was driven mainly by new-build housing, where annual growth slowed sharply to 7.4% — down 1.7 percentage points on the previous quarter and the weakest new-build reading since the start of 2023. Resale property held up better, still rising 12.9% year on year, only slightly down from 13.5% in the first quarter. Prices did not stand still in the meantime, either: the index rose 3.4% compared with the previous quarter alone, with resale accounting for most of that (+3.7%) against a much more modest 1.0% rise in new-build prices.

Every region of Spain recorded a price increase over the year, though by very different margins. Ceuta (15.2%), Asturias (15.0%), and Castilla y León (14.8%) saw the steepest rises, while Navarra (9.5%), the Basque Country (10.0%), and Catalonia (10.1%) recorded the smallest. Several regions popular with international buyers sit above the national average — Murcia (14.4%), the Balearic Islands (13.7%), and the Comunitat Valenciana (13.0%) all outpaced the 12.2% national figure, while Madrid came in almost exactly in line with it at 12.9%.

The reading lands within days of a separate report from valuation firm Tinsa showing a similar pattern of cooling growth in August. The two organisations measure the market differently and their figures should not be read as directly comparable, but both now point in the same direction: after a sustained, rapid climb, Spain's housing market is beginning to lose some of its momentum, even as prices continue to rise almost everywhere.