House prices were up 14.59% during 2020
Puerto Rico’s housing market registered a surprisingly strong rebound with the seasonally-adjusted purchase-only house price index rising by 14.59% during 2020, a sharp turnaround from a y-o-y decline of 0.67% in 2019, using inflation-adjusted figures. YQuarter-on-quarter, house prices increased 3.1% in Q4 2020.
A decade-long housing market downturn
The Puerto Rican housing market has suffered enormously this decade. The island has experienced a prolonged economic crisis, massive debt, high unemployment and continuing population loss. Puerto Rico's bankruptcy filing in May 2017 was the biggest in the history of the United States, with US$70 billion in debt and US$50 billion in pension liabilities.
Rents, rental yields: no yields data available for Puerto Rico.
Recent news. During 2020, Puerto Rico’s economy was estimated to have contracted by 7.5%, in contrast to an annual growth of 2% in 2019, mainly due to the pandemic as well as regular earthquakes, according to the IMF. The economy slumped by 4.9% in 2018, 2.7% in 2017, 1.3% in 2016, 1% in 2015, 1.2% in 2014, and 0.3% in 2013.
The economy is expected to remain weak, with projected GDP growth of just 1.5% this year and 0.7% in 2022, based on IMF estimates.
