Advertised property prices jumped by 6.1% in the fourth quarter of last year compared to the same quarter in 2010,  extending the upward trend that began
earlier in the year, the Central Bank said today.

It said that according to its ongoing survey, the increase was primarily driven by higher prices for upmarket apartments.

During 2011 as a whole, the Bank’s index increased at an average rate of 1.3%,
following a rise of 1.1% in 2010.

Although the rise during the quarter was spread across all housing categories, the most significant increases were for apartments and for properties in the “other” category.

Prices of apartments, which made up almost three-fifths of properties in the sample, saw an annual increase of 6.4%, with a higher number of advertised upmarket properties contributing to this rise.

Over the year as a whole, apartment prices were 4.0% higher than in 2010.

During the fourth quarter, asking prices in the “other” category, which consists of townhouses, houses of character and villas, rose by 15.4%, largely as a result of higher asking prices for townhouses and villas.

However, for the year as a whole, prices in the “other” category, which are relatively volatile, dropped by 2.5%. In addition, prices of maisonettes gained 3.6% during the quarter, resulting in a 1.7% increase over the entire year.

On the other hand, asking prices for terraced houses remained unchanged during the quarter, resulting in an overall decline of 0.8% during 2011.

The bank noted, however that  the number of advertised properties contracted by 7.0% on a year earlier in the December.