Eurozone house prices drop 1.8% in 2012

House prices fell by 1.8 percent in the euro area in the fourth quarter of 2012 compared with the same quarter of the previous year, data from the European Union's statistics agency Eurostat showed Thursday. Among 13 euro zone countries that provided house price figures, eight saw their house prices decline in the last quarter last year on an annual basis, Eurostat said in a statement. Spain witnessed the sharpest fall in house prices over the period at 12.8 percent, followed by Slovenia, the Netherlands and Portugal, at 8.8 percent, 6.1 percent and six percent respectively. Estonia and Malta were among the few euro zone countries which saw their house prices rise, at 5.8 percent and 5.4 percent respectively. In the same period, euro zone house prices fell 0.5 percent compared to the third quarter of 2012, with Slovenia, Slovakia and Italy leading the declining trend, registering 3.5 percent, two percent and 1.6 percent respectively. For the whole European Union, house prices decreased 1.4 percent on an annual basis and fell 0.7 percent compared to the previous quarter, Eurostat figures showed.