Spanish property stabilises, mortgage approvals rise

[MADRID] Spanish home mortgage approvals rose in March for the first time in almost four years, adding to signs that the property market is stabilising six years after triggering the worst recession in the country's democratic history.

The number of residential loan approvals rose 2 per cent from a year earlier, the first increase since April 2010, the Madrid-based National Statistics Institute said yesterday. The total amount lent rose by 16 per cent, its first gain since 2007. House prices in the country fell 3.5 per cent from a year ago in the first quarter, the smallest decline in over three years, separate data from the Public Works Ministry showed.

As a recovery in the fourth-largest economy in the euro area extends and its record unemployment subsides, the property market whose downfall locked the country into a six-year economic slump is showing signs of life. While home-price data isn't yet signalling a turnaround, improvements in sales and lending indicate that values may be starting to stabilise.