Bank valuations of houses at ten-year highs.

The average bank valuation of houses for mortgage purposes was €1,196 per square meter (m2) in August. This represents an increase of €9 (0.8%) compared to July and €74 (6.6%) compared to the same month last year, according to the National Statistics Institute (INE).

The data is clear: since March 2017, the average value of houses for banks has been increasing and is currently at its highest level in ten years—since September 2008, the last year for which data is available, when values were not as high.

As for apartments, the average bank valuation increased to €1,252 per m2, €9 more than in July and 6.7% more than in the same period last year. In the case of houses, the average valuation shot up to €1,102 per m2, €12 more than in July and 5.6% more than in August last year.

“At the regional level, the highest increase for housing as a whole was recorded in the Autonomous Region of Madeira (2.4%) and the lowest in the North (0.7%),” explains INE. “The highest year-on-year rate of change for all valuations was in the Algarve (9.6%) and the lowest in the Alentejo (3.6%),” it concluded.

It should be noted that in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area (AML), the bank valuation of houses assigned for the purpose of granting mortgage loans continued to rise in August, reaching €2,216 per m2. However, this increase is due to the rise seen in the cities on the outskirts of the capital, already