House prices were up 9.07% y-o-y in Q3 2020
Puerto Rico’s housing market surprisingly registered a strong rebound with the seasonally-adjusted purchase-only house price index rising by 9.07% during the year to Q3 2020, a sharp turnaround from y-o-y declines of 0.8% in Q2 and 6.86% in Q1, using inflation-adjusted figures. Yet it remains lower than the prior year’s 12.9% y-o-y increase. Quarter-on-quarter, house prices increased 6.93% in Q3 2020.
A decade-long housing market downturn
The Puerto Rican housing market has suffered tremendously for most of the decade. The island has experienced a prolonged economic crisis, massive debt, high unemployment and continuing population loss. With US$70 billion in debt and US$50 billion in pension liabilities, Puerto Rico's bankruptcy filing in May 2017 was the biggest in the history of the United States.
Rents, rental yields: no yields data available for Puerto Rico.
Recent news. During 2019, Puerto Rico’s economy grew by 2% from a year earlier, following annual declines of 4.9% in 2018, 2.7% in 2017, 1.3% in 2016, 1% in 2015, 1.2% in 2014, and 0.3% in 2013, according to the IMF. It was the country’s best economic performance since 2003. However, the economy is projected to contract again by 7.5% this year, amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.
