Spanish Property Investment Advice

Brought to you each week by our property expert, Iain Maitland.

Posted on 04 August 2006

Spanish Property Invesment on the Rise

If you’re feeling gloomy about UK property prospects following the base rate rise, have a look at the Spanish property market! The stats that are coming in look extremely positive. The 3.4 per cent GDP expansion of 2005 is the best in Europe and is tipped to continue through this year and beyond. Investment in property construction has grown by 7.4 per cent so far this year which beats the 6 per cent rise for the whole of 2005. Even what I would call the nitty-gritty figures are very encouraging. The Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria figures show cement consumption levels are up by more than 15 per cent year on year, for example.

A Place In the Sun Live is coming to the NEC in Birmingham from 29 September to 1 October. For more information, visit the web site at www.aplaceinthesunlive.com. The opening times are 10am to 6pm on Friday 29 and Saturday 30 September and 10am to 5.30pm Sunday 1 October.

Sadyt and Ferrovial-Agroman have won a €238.7 million desalination contract for Murcia. Construction of the plant should take two years and is expected to produce 180,000 cubic metres of fresh water each day. That should ease any fears that investors have had recently about buying into this part of Spain!

The Regent Street Festival on Sunday September 3 in London is ‘A Walk Through Spain’. The street will closed to traffic and will feature lots of attractions from flamenco dancers through Menorcan horse riders to Riojan wine tasting. The event is free and runs from noon to 8pm.

The Spanish authorities have been looking at ways of improving the quality of property available to investors. Changing land laws mean that developers will have to give up about one-fifth of land earmarked for urban use. The idea is that this will leave some land for more affordable housing to be established. Frankly, this will have the effect of pushing up prices. Similarly, new property regulations which aim to increase consumer protection will also add in costs to the process which will again drive prices ever upwards. That is good news for those who have already bought in or are buying in shortly!

All for now

Iain Maitland

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