Housing prices in the Eurozone rose 4.1% in the fourth quarter of 2016 from a year earlier, the highest interannual increase since the third quarter of 2007, according to Eurostat data. On a quarter-on-quarter basis, housing prices in the Eurozone rose 0.8%, half a percentage point less than in the third quarter. For the European Union as a whole, prices rose 0.8% in the fourth quarter from the previous one, when they were up 1.4%, while in interannual terms the rise was 4.7%, the biggest in nine years.
Amongst those countries whose figures are available, the biggest annual increase in prices was in the Czech Republic (11%), Hungary (9.7%) and Lithuania (9.5%). The weakest figures were found in Italy (0.1%), Finland (1%) and France (1.9%).
It’s worth noting the discrepancies in the trend in housing prices in the main European economies. While they grew above average in Germany (6.7%) and the UK (5.7%), in France (1.9%) and in Italy (0.1%), after remaining in negative territory in the latter for the whole year, they hardly grew. In Spain, on the other hand, the average remained at 4.4%.
Prices in Spain were more moderate than in other economies (or banking sectors) bailed out by the European Union. Although the figures in Greece are not known, housing prices in Ireland and Portugal rose 7.6%, respectively.
