Housing prices are on the rise in some coastal areas

Prices were supposedly going up in the Murcia region, but I haven't noticed. Looking at Expat press,  similar villas to mine in other regions  are on sale for quite a bit more. The future theme park should have boosted sales, I would have thought.

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 But seriously will they actually build that theme park ? Did they ever get the funding?

In the Valencia city region prices are pretty stagnant at the moment, they don't seem to be moving either way so that might be a sign I don't know ...

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So, house prices around Torrevieja have jumped 3%?  Since they fell by some 50% (more in some places) this sudden leap means that they have only fallen 47%

I'm probably being a bit pedantic here, but a 50% fall then a 3% rise is actually a 48.5% fall overall

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 Thank God some one is good at maths on here ! 

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 The theme park has not moved on, though they say they will start it in July anyway.   We shall see..........

House prices are seriously skewed by the bank owned properties.   I cannot see how anyone can see what the real picture is while the bank is selling to cover the debt only.   And in some cases not even that!!!     

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hi guys

 

where are these properties to be found at such low prices?

 

cheers

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I bought a really good apartment on the beach near Estepona in mid 2011 knowing that prices would likely continue to fall, but I wanted this place and I am absolutely chuffed with it. Sadly I cannot help but feel the market has still a long way to fall. The "residence for property purchase" sheme that was proposed in 2011 for property for E160,000 was a great chance to start inroads into the glut of properties throughout Spain. Unfortunately-as is their want-they have again shot themselves in the foot by increasing the price to E500,000 ! ! ! A great opportunity has been missed, so there is no doubt whatsoever that property needs to fall in price by around another 30% to make sales to foreigners attractive. We will still be in this glut for the next 10-12  years at least-there are simply too many deserted urbanisations.

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 Go into Kyero and pick your area and then select sort by lowest price.   Or go to something like Spain Assured which has a section of bank repos.   Or ask the banks.

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I have a duplex apartment down the road from Torrevieja, near Campo Amor. It is on a large complex, bought off plan in 2005.
It seems to be worth about half its original value having fallen sharply after 2008. Onlyabout a third of the apartments on this pleasant development near 3 golf courses have been sold, and many others, actually on the courses themselves, are up for sale.
There is such over- supply around here that I do not see the prices lifting any time soon. However, those living there seem to be maintaining their homes well and the communal areas are kept nice by the residents' association using the 500 euros per year contributions from us all.
I come and go, as it is my bolt hole in the sun.

The bottom line is, it is not worth selling unless you have to, and a good time to buy if you want to.

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A very good reply by drsteve. There will be a short upswing indicated in the market in January/Feb when the "residency for property purchase" comes into effect-but beware. Estate agents will trumpet the new dawn with increased sales figures etc etc. But it will only be for property sales over E500,000 and will only last for a short period. Thereafter it will continue the doom-and-gloom.

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I'm not convinced that a 3% rise can be called "a jump" in prices. Nor am I convinced that the Minister for Planning is likely to do anything other than put a major gloss on any tiny statistic that may support her political and promotional position. Indeed, any town or village can show a "jump" if three houses are sold in one month - even if nothing shifts for the next four months!

It is odd, isn't it, how us from the the UK are more culturally inclined to buy. But it's true, and I did, for the same reasons Almogie says. It's NOT always about "investment", though some posters on this forum seem to think it's only about "return on investment". Sometimes it's just about having a home you want to spend the rest of your life in. Where you can paint the walls a different colour, extend a terrace, buy some trees etc without needing permission and without resenting that your expenditure is benefitting someone else.

Anyway, as I've said before (and will no doubt say again!) - a sale is only made when both seller AND buyer are content with the agreed price. Whatever happens to prices after that date is irrelevant.

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 I would just like to say though, that the very low priced property is shifting.   And I for one am pleased to see that.  At least it should mean community fees brought up to date, and fewer unoccupied houses.  I personally believe that the rubbish that was unfinished - largely so called urbanisations or resorts - should just have been knocked down.   Sadly, the banks decided to finish some of them off - working to even cheaper standards than the original.    But at circa 50000 euros for a two bed apartment, I guess they will be enjoyed by people who will hopefully contribute to the Spanish econonmy.

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 I would also say that the Spanish are culturally inclined to buy, it is only now that the crisis has hit hard that the Spanish have been forced to rent, the tendancy was and still is to to stay at home with mum and dad until you can afford to buy a house, this is not the culture in the UK. The avergae age for leaving home in Spain is now 31 years of age. Before kids didn't leave home until they got married and they wouldn't get married unless they could buy a house, all wedding gifts were associated with furnishing and dressing the house and initiating a new life of independance, never far from home may I add. i would consider the UK to be far more culturally inclined to rent than the Spanish, maybe not now so much, but certainly before the crisis. This was one of the reasons the constructure built so much because they played on this culture of ownership. Now it is pretty irrelevant because virtually no one can get a mortgage. 

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With house prices in the UK out of reach of many young people  there are more  young people than ever staying at home well into their thirties (we have one ourselves!) and more people than ever are renting. Buy to let  for people fed up with poor savings and pension returns is booming because the rental demand and returns are high..

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 Buy to let is booming in the UK because the banks are keen to lend to landlords...................  more profitable for them.

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Quote: "I'm not convinced that a 3% rise can be called "a jump" in prices." - tamaraessex.

I agree, especially when that 'jump' is put into context. We are, and have been, in a volatile period for property prices. Stocks have been even more volatile but long-term, - very long term - the returns on both have been about equal - and both have tracked no more than inflation. 

http://observationsandnotes.blogspot.pt/2011/06/us-housing-prices-since-1900.html

http://monevator.com/historical-uk-house-prices/

However, as we have lived most of our lives during a period of unprecedented money printing and unsustainable debt levels, the prices of both have experienced huge bubbles. If that's all we've ever known, then it's all too easy to believe that they're inflation 'beating' investments when they're, at best, inflation 'trackers' and to believe that they will continue those exponential increases after a short breather. They won't.

All such bubbles revert to their mean and the most bubblicious always overshoot to the downside as they retrace. So far, there has never been an exception - but if you want to believe that this time is different, then you won't be alone in finding solace in that warm 'n' fuzzy place. So, history says we still have a long way to go before property prices rise sustainably. Absent some hyperinflationary disaster, it probably won't happen in our lifetime. Even if such a disaster did occur, that increase would only be nominal and there would be no 'real' increase when that inflation is taken into account. In fact, when inflation is taken into account over the last 30-40 years, property prices haven't actually increased in real terms as much as most think.

While prices of both Stocks and Property may have risen a little recently, it is again due to Central Banks and panicked Governments trying to kick-the-can down the road, just a little bit longer, rather than carry-the-can for not having created any fundamental improvements in our economies. While we do still have a long way to go, nothing goes down in a straight line. There will always be seasonal blips and rallies due to short-term government incentives like Spain's €160K citizenship inducement and the UK's recent idea to introduce mortgage guarantee schemes (How'd that work out for the USA when they tried it during the early 2000's?). Even the 1930's Stock market crash had about 10-12 rallies before it hit bottom. Every one of them was hailed as 'The Bottom' by people with an agenda and/or who should have known better.

I began to sell all my properties in 2005 and sold the last one in 2008 - most of them too early. And for anyone who thinks what I have written is just 'doom and gloom', I started to buy again in 2011 - again probably too early. There are always 'good' deals in any climate but this isn't about 'doom and gloom' - it's about the Maths.        

 

This message was last edited by JD01 on 09/06/2013.

This message was last edited by JD01 on 09/06/2013.

This message was last edited by JD01 on 09/06/2013.

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Roly2 - BTL mortgages in the UK are not so easy as they were a year or so ago.  Barclays/Woolwich who are arguably the market leader have just changed their lending criteria and if you have 4 or more BTL mortgages with them already they take you through an additional process - jumping through more hoops.  Their terms for individual BTL have been increased and the mortgage term for all lending is to a maximum age of 70.   Previously it was a 20/25 year term without an age limit.

They are also a lot more picky than they aver used to be - I had a proposition turned down because there was a history of Japanese knotweed on the property - even though this had been treated and the work had a 10 year guarantee.  In fairness other lenders also seem to have a phobia about Japanese knotweed, but this follows the more stringent underwriting now taking place. 

To my way of thinking this 3% rise is not that important as it will depend on the calculation ie 3% of what base value used.  But what is good to see is that some sales are now taking place, some of which are not at silly prices.  We can all guess - mine is that within a year or two prices will be increasing substantially.

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 I agree with drsteve, I am also in that area and I'm the President of my urbanisation for the past 4 years with many improvements. We have 5 properties unsold by the builder since they were finished in 2005, sadly they are starting to look dirty, tired and un-loved. Property on ours is selling but only if they are cheap and look very nice, with finished gardens and extras inside, so sadly while many will sell below what they paid, just to get out of the broken dream, the builders/Banks still are asking way to much. What would you buy cheaper a well maintained resale with extras or a sad unloved place that no-one has ever owned? Too much supply and not enough  buyers, it will be decades if ever if some of these properties are ever sold and they will become a blight on many communities. Still they are building nearby, again this doesn't help. As for house prices rising, I haven't noticed it at all.

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