Spain Real Estate News

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Asking prices still 20pc too high say 84pc of house-hunters in Spain
Tuesday, July 6, 2010 @ 11:39 AM

Asking prices are still between 10% and 20% too high, reveals a new survey of house-hunters carried out in March by the Foundation of Savings Banks (FUNCAS).

84% of Spaniards think that vendors are still asking too much, and more than half think prices will fall around 10.5% this year.

Compared to the last time this survey was carried out, however, the general perception of value for money has improved. In 2005, 95% of Spanish house-hunters thought property prices were over-valued by between 30% and 50%.

“There is still a perception that prices are over-valued, although less so, probably as a result of official prices falling for 2 years,” explains real estate expert Prof. José García Montalvo in the report from FUNCAS.

Is now a good time to buy property in Spain?

Is now a good time to buy? Spanish house-hunters are divided. 55.5% say yes “fundamentally because of low interest rates,” whilst 44.5% say no. So the current and former Ministers for Housing are not the only ones who can’t agree if now is a good time to buy property in Spain.

The survey by FUNCAS also reveals that most house-hunters think it will take the market 7&1/2 years to recover fully, though a significant minority are optimistic a recovery will happen much sooner.

Source: Spanish Property Insight

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3 Comments

GrahamW said:
Tuesday, July 6, 2010 @ 4:29 PM

The Spanish government can do a lot to help stabalise and aid recovery of the Spanish housing market. Rules/regulations and taxes could be eased to attract more non-spanish buyers to soak up the over 1 million unsold properties. Unsold city properties could be aquired by the state at 80% of market value(if unsold for 6 months), State can resell when prices improve or rent out. Property values should be assessed by the state, owners forced to accept offers at this price and also the state should use these realistic values for taxes instead of vastly inflated ones sometimes used.

jane said:
Tuesday, July 6, 2010 @ 5:28 PM

I've just sold my house at the price we paid for it in 2001 (without the fees and taxes) to Spanish buyers. All of the houses near to me that have been sold have been to Spanish buyers at 2001 prices. They have created the market and set the current value - a 65% reduction on the artificially high value given by the bank in 2004, so yes, asking prices are still too high.

Andrew said:
Saturday, September 4, 2010 @ 9:33 AM

Its quite simple, once the euro weakens against the £ the housing market will rise once again. Its not that properties are over priced (In my opinion) its that the exchange rate and credit available needs to improve. Im my Opinion give it 2 years and things will start to move. Initially it will be slow due to the banks off loading all the repossesion properties, but it will inprove.

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