The price of second hand housing in Spain stood at an average of €1,594sqm at the end of 2014, which represents a decline of 5%, compared with a year earlier, according to the latest house price index published by property portal, idealista.com.

The portal’s data indicates that the decline in housing prices is moderating, following the decline of just 0.4% registered in the last quarter, and even points to some positive growth, year-on-year, in some local markets.

Catalonia was the only region to achieve an increase in the price of second hand housing at the end of 2014, of +1.7%, while the greatest declines were registered in Cantabria (-9.4%), Castilla-La Mancha (-9.3%) and La Rioja (-8.6%).

El Economista reported that the Basque Country remains the most expensive region, with an average price of €2,663sqm, followed by Madrid (€2,301sqm) and Catalonia (€1,858sqm). In contrast, the most affordable regions are Castilla-La Mancha (€996sqm), Extremadura (€1,023sqm) and Murcia (€1,068sqm).

The data shows a market divided in two where prices have already bottomed out or are close to doing so in some areas, such as big cities or areas of tourist interest, while in many other provinces the prices are likely to continue to fall further over the next 12 months, although at a much more moderate rate than in past years.