Spain Real Estate News

Brian Rowlands BSc FRICS said:
Tuesday, December 30, 2008 @ 10:19 AM

I agree that Spain will still be in demand in 2009 and I suppose always will but it is the effective demand [ people able to buy] which matters
For those in that position a pragmatic view to buying may be the best approach in 2009
This is a bit of news I have picked up and edited to accord with my own views

According to a new survey from Barclays Bank in association with Homes Overseas magazine some 40% of UK population either own, or intend to buy an overseas property in the future, with 2.4% (1.44 million of the total population) stating that they would look to purchase within 12 months.

Very interesting and perhaps a touch optimistic but it does illustrate that there is a lot of demand which will after this recession is over underpin the property market in Spain

The research found that the most popular country for those polled was France (25.9%), followed by Spain (24.9%). Italy, Portugal, Dubai and South Africa ranked 3rd to 6th respectively.
British aged 16 – 24 were found to be the most likely to consider buying abroad in the next 12 months, while at present, people aged 55 and over are the biggest owners of overseas property.

Villas (48%), apartments (39%) and farmhouses (29%) are the most popular types of properties for those that own, or intend to buy, property abroad.

In response to the question about the main motivation to buy abroad, 35.6% said that retirement was the biggest single thing driving them overseas, while 31.4% were after a holiday home and 25.4% were looking to invest purely for capital gains.

Bad weather, a lower quality of life and an expensive cost of living were all listed as reasons for choosing an overseas property from the above instead of the UK.

When it comes to choosing a property to buy, referrals from friends (30.9%) came top in the decision making process, followed by specialist websites (29.9%), dedicated overseas property magazines (17.7%) and property exhibitions (10.8%).

Again not surprising that exhibitions have passed their sell by date!!

The majority of respondents (43.1%) said that they would finance their purchase in cash, while 28.3% would sell their UK property and 19.9% would re mortgage their homes to finance the purchase abroad. Over 60% of all surveyed owned at least one property in the UK.

This research does categorically shows that the British still have a large appetite for homes abroad, and why not?

The global property market slowdown should definitely be perceived as a window of opportunity to negotiate a property deal at a bargain basement price. The prospect of a zero per cent UK interest rate may tempt some to stay put and buy property in the UK, but it won’t improve the lifestyle, weather or food. Interest rates are also falling overseas and this will lower the cost of borrowing to fund peoples’ holiday or retirement homes

A holiday home in Spain for a family of 4, well financed at the current low interest rates, is still a practical option to provide regular family holidays in the sun at a competitive cost and also having the potential of being a good medium to long term investment

2009 may yet turn out to be a good year to look for the bargain holiday home in Spain!

Brian

Brian Rowlands BSc FRICS said:
Tuesday, December 30, 2008 @ 10:20 AM

I agree that Spain will still be in demand in 2009 and I suppose always will but it is the effective demand [ people able to buy] which matters
For those in that position a pragmatic view to buying may be the best approach in 2009
This is a bit of news I have picked up and edited to accord with my own views

According to a new survey from Barclays Bank in association with Homes Overseas magazine some 40% of UK population either own, or intend to buy an overseas property in the future, with 2.4% (1.44 million of the total population) stating that they would look to purchase within 12 months.

Very interesting and perhaps a touch optimistic but it does illustrate that there is a lot of demand which will after this recession is over underpin the property market in Spain

The research found that the most popular country for those polled was France (25.9%), followed by Spain (24.9%). Italy, Portugal, Dubai and South Africa ranked 3rd to 6th respectively.
British aged 16 – 24 were found to be the most likely to consider buying abroad in the next 12 months, while at present, people aged 55 and over are the biggest owners of overseas property.

Villas (48%), apartments (39%) and farmhouses (29%) are the most popular types of properties for those that own, or intend to buy, property abroad.

In response to the question about the main motivation to buy abroad, 35.6% said that retirement was the biggest single thing driving them overseas, while 31.4% were after a holiday home and 25.4% were looking to invest purely for capital gains.

Bad weather, a lower quality of life and an expensive cost of living were all listed as reasons for choosing an overseas property from the above instead of the UK.

When it comes to choosing a property to buy, referrals from friends (30.9%) came top in the decision making process, followed by specialist websites (29.9%), dedicated overseas property magazines (17.7%) and property exhibitions (10.8%).

Again not surprising that exhibitions have passed their sell by date!!

The majority of respondents (43.1%) said that they would finance their purchase in cash, while 28.3% would sell their UK property and 19.9% would re mortgage their homes to finance the purchase abroad. Over 60% of all surveyed owned at least one property in the UK.

This research does categorically shows that the British still have a large appetite for homes abroad, and why not?

The global property market slowdown should definitely be perceived as a window of opportunity to negotiate a property deal at a bargain basement price. The prospect of a zero per cent UK interest rate may tempt some to stay put and buy property in the UK, but it won’t improve the lifestyle, weather or food. Interest rates are also falling overseas and this will lower the cost of borrowing to fund peoples’ holiday or retirement homes

A holiday home in Spain for a family of 4, well financed at the current low interest rates, is still a practical option to provide regular family holidays in the sun at a competitive cost and also having the potential of being a good medium to long term investment

2009 may yet turn out to be a good year to look for the bargain holiday home in Spain!

Brian

steve- almerisol properties. said:
Tuesday, December 30, 2008 @ 5:24 PM

it's nice to see at last that someone has some positive reaction to the current crisis, we are agents in almeria and beleive that the low prices we are seeing now and the possible future reductions we may see early next year make it an ideal time for people to buy, what people forget is that when the economies pick up and the exchange rate gets better, the house prices will rise as well, so any gain in waiting may be lost, people are getting no return on their savings but could if they buy right make excellent return on property.

realist said:
Tuesday, December 30, 2008 @ 7:45 PM

and there speaks an estate agent !! how are people going to raise the finance with banks not lending ? will people buy into a falling market ? you can only get a return if you can rent successfully and rents are being driven down by over supply , tourist numbers are falling who are the renters ?

Rob in Madrid said:
Wednesday, December 31, 2008 @ 1:19 PM

For those interested such things Edward Hugh writes an excellent blog on the Spanish ecomony.

http://spaineconomy.blogspot.com/

Warning, not much good news there.

Personally I still believe the Spanish are in total denial (and who blames them) on how bad things are. yes Spain is a wonderful place to live but no matter how much the sun shines you still need a job to pay the bills.

Miguel said:
Thursday, January 1, 2009 @ 10:54 AM

Unfortunately prices in Spain have a lot further to fall. There is, in most areas, a massive oversupply and this, together with the lack of mortgage finance must inevitably create a downward pressure on prices.

janet atkinson said:
Wednesday, January 7, 2009 @ 1:46 PM

how do we get over the very high mortgage that we have due to the drop in the pound also we are on a fixed rate for the next four years extremely worried that the pound will drop drastically below the euro which will put even more pressure on us any ideas what to do

regards jan