Housing prices on the Catalan coast have plummeted by 45% since their peak in 2007/8 and Barcelona has seen some of the largest percentage falls, according to a report on the holiday housing market prepared by Tinsa.

The property valuers noted that the Catalan region is home to 3 of the 10 worst hit municipalities. They are: Castelló d’Empúries (Girona), which has accumulated a drop of 53.7%; Pineda de Mar (Barcelona), where prices have fallen by 52.1%, and Mataró (Barcelona), with a decline of 52%.

When broken into provinces, the housing crisis has hit Barcelona hardest (-48.5%), followed by Girona (-45%), and Tarragona (-44.5%).

The Director of Business Development and Marketing for Tinsa, Raul Garcia, explained that the areas now suffering the strongest price declines, are also those which had the largest increases during the real estate boom.

According to Tinsa’s forecast, second home market sales in Spain will remain stagnant until 2015, at around 20,000 properties per year, of which they estimate that some 5,000 will be purchased by non-resident foreigners, at a rate that will increase in the coming years.

“The purchase by Spanish nationals of second homes will not be reactivated until the purchase of first homes is, and this will not occur until there is confidence and job security”, said Garcia.

This may happen sooner than expected though, as data from the State Public Employment Service (SEPE) reveals that unemployment in Spain fell by 127,248 people at the end of June, compared to the previous month. In relative terms, unemployment fell by 2.6%. However, the fall is likely due to the start of the summer holiday season.