Mortgage approvals for Spanish homes rose for the first time in four years reinforcing property expert’s views that the property market is showing signs of recovery after enduring six years of the worst recession in Spain’s democratic history.

The total number of mortgage approvals on residential dwellings recorded in the land registry stood at 16,625 in March 2014, a 2% increase compared to the same time last year, according to figures published by the National Statistics Institute which is based in Madrid.

Property prices are no longer decreasing at the worrying rate that we have seen over the past few years. The first quarter of 2014 house prices in Spain fell by only 3.5%, the smallest decline in over 3 years. Statistics like this are pushing the property recovery forward, investors and property buyers alike are keen to snap up the last remaining bargain properties before prices once again start to rise.

In a recent news conference International Monetary Fund senior economist Paulo Medas said that “All signs point to the end of the downward adjustment.”

The average mortgage is valued at around €102,397 showing an annual increase of 5.6% and the overall value of mortgages taken out on urban properties nearly reached 3,393.7 million Euros a huge 18.7% more than that of 2013.

The top community with the highest mortgage approval rate was Andalucía with 3,078 accepted applications; Madrid had the second highest amount at 2,712 and then Cataluña with 2,390. It comes as no surprise to see Andalucía grab the top spot; with many agents on the Costa del Sol and property experts reporting an increase in sales figures in the first quarter of 2014 and a rise in luxury property sales in prime locations along the coast such as Marbella, Estepona and Benahavis.

Spain’s General Council of Notaries said earlier this month that home sales jumped more than 45 percent in the first quarter compared to the same time in 2013. A great relief for many home owners no doubt.