The Residential Property Price Index stabilised.
- According to the Residential Property Price Index (houses and apartments), residential property prices remained, on average, unchanged in 2015Q4 compared with 2015Q3. In particular, house prices registered an increase of 0,5 % on a quarterly basis, while the prices of apartments decreased by 1,6% compared with the previous quarter.
- For the first time since 2010Q3, the RPPI is not negative on a quarterly basis, while house prices registered a quarterly increase.
- On an annual basis, the RPPI recorded a decrease of 1,8% in 2015Q4, compared with decreases of 3,7% and 5,0% in 2015Q3 and 2015Q2, respectively.
- The economy as a whole continued to show signs of recovery with GDP recording positive growth rates. The improvement in the domestic economy is expected to have a positive effect on the property sector.
Residential property price indices
During 2015Q4 the RPPI remained stable compared with 2015Q3. House prices increased by 0,5% on a quarterly basis while apartment prices recorded a decrease of 1,6% compared with 2015Q3 (Chart 1). The quarterly increase in house prices is the first registered since 2010Q1. The prices of apartments, further to the increase registered in 2015Q3, declined again on a quarterly basis.
On an annual basis, the house price index recorded a 1.8 % decrease compared with an annual decrease of 3.7 % in the previous quarter of 2015. House prices fell by 1.4 % on an annual basis and apartment prices by 2.8 % against annual reductions of 3.9% and 2.8 %, respectively, in 2015Q3. Chart 2 shows that the declines observed in the quarter under review were the smallest in the last five years (i.e. since 2011).
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