Prices rise 0.9% in Euskadi and inflation remains at 3.1%

-->

The prices in Euskadi went up nine tenth last October so the increase in the CPI stood at 3.1%, according to the INE. In the whole of Spain, the October CPI experienced a rise of eight tenths, bringing the annual rate registered an increase of 3.5%.

By province, prices rose in October by 1.2% in Alava and 0.9% in both Gipuzkoa and Bizkaia. In the last twelve months, the highest increase was recorded in Bizkaia (3.3%), followed by Gipuzkoa (3.1%) and Alava (2.8%).

On the whole of the CAV the most inflationary in October were clothing and footwear, with a price increase of 12.5% and education, with an increase of 2.5%. Conversely, prices fell on recreation and culture (1.1%), transport (0.7%), housing (0.6%) and hotels, cafes and restaurants (0.2%).

As regards the annual period, prices fell on only in communications (1.7%). The rest of the branches experienced price increases, the most significant being those in housing (6.6%), transport (5.8%) and alcoholic beverages and snuff (5.5%).

Julen Lopetegi

HOUSE PRICE DROPS AGAIN

The financial crisis that hits hard Spain during the last years continues without a break and has got a new record. The house price has again nosedived in the last trimester, dropping 9,5 per cent, the biggest fall since the crisis started. After this new decrease, the average price of the houses is 1,565,5 euros per square metre, the sames prices as they were eight years ago, in 2004, according to the last numbers offered by Spanish Government.

Overall prices have fallen by 31% since the crisis hit in 2008. And the problem is that Spain has a vast over capacity of housing, much more houses than people to buy them. Experts estimated that there are 2 million unsold homes all around the country.

By region, the biggest fall in house prices year-on-year, have been in Extremadura where prices declined by 12.25% and Canary Island, by 11,7%. On the opposite side are Ceuta and Melilla, by 1.7%, Navarra, 2.85% and the Basque Country, where prices fell 3.5%. Regarding cities with more than 25.000 inhabitants, the most expensive is San Sebastian, at €3,781 per square metre, followed by Getxo, at 3,640 per square metre. Instead, the square metre is cheaper in the valence municipalities of Novelda, where it costs 748 euros and Villena, 748 euros.

According to the last report made by the company for real estate valuation Tinsa, in  September ‘Capitals and Major Cities’ recorded the steepest year-on-year decline with 13.5%. The remaining areas all fell below the average with very similar year-on-year figures. The largest price falls were in ‘Other Municipalities’ with 10.9%, followed by ‘Mediterranean Coast’ with 10.8% year-on-year, ‘Metropolitan Areas’, with 10.4%, the same as the previous month, and lastly the ‘Balearic and Canary Islands’ with a figure of 10%. In terms of the cumulative declines by area since the top of the market, the fall in prices in the ‘Mediterranean Coast’ reached 39.2% in September; followed by 36% for ‘Capitals and Major Cities’, 33.2% for ‘Metropolitan Areas’, 28.6% for the ‘Balearic and Canary Islands’ and 28.5% for ‘Other Municipalities’, which comprises all those not included in other categories

Ana García

The Basques hurried the last few hours to go to the polls

The 34.17% of Basques decided not to go to the polls. With the data given during the day seemed that abstention significantly exceed of the 2009 elections. But voters decided to go at the last minute. In the Basque polling the percentage of voters was 14.8% compared to 17.1% of the previous regional elections. The Deputy Minister of Interior of the Basque Country, Raul Fernandez de Arroyabe, stated that there could be "multiple reasons" that could explain that lower turnout, among which he mentioned the rain.

The affluence to the polls for the last three hours they opened made possible at the end of the day that the turnout figures were similar to those of other years. The researchs are showing that the public feels increasingly distanced from the political class.

Sofía Pérez

A Bad Bank in Spain

In Spain it was known that a housing bubble would explode sooner or later. The houses were valued very high and with unrealistic prices for banks to give the credits.

In 2004 and in 2006 the Bank of Spain told to Caja Madrid:

“The property risk is growing by 55% (…) and it will continue increasing upt to very high rates”

Then the housing bubble finally exploded and Spain fell in a deep crisis.

Now in the last quarter of 2012, the crisis seems to have no solution and Brussels has imposed to Spain to create a “bad bank” which will be paid with public money.

Brussels validates the reforms of the Government of Spain and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has recommended liquidating the non-viable banks as soon as possible.

The International Agency, the Commission and the ECB give the approval to the bad bank and want it to be operative the first of December.

The EC and the ECB ensure that the reforms which Spain agreed to comply if it request the rescue is “in line” with expectations. But FIM believes that more efforts have to be made Sareb (the bad bank that will manage the property portfolio of toxic banks) ready to open by the end of November.

Noemí Gómez