Sell in Spain

"And yet people are still afraid to buy".... The fear is not only related to prices and IMHO the facts identified below in my last posting play their part in the fear factor.

People are better informed now and remain wary of many scenarios, not least the distrust of Spanish Banks and their continuing behaviour to run roughshod over not only the Spanish Justice system but also those who have been compromised by their unregulated lending practices. Likewise the unregulated behaviour of other professionals within the real estate industry and the Government's failure to address the knock on effect on consumer confidence all sadly play their part.

Roberto, yes I mean prices pre-crash in 2007. They will get there again, it is just a matter of time. My guess is a decade, but that is just a guess. A lot depends on macro-economic factors such as an exit from recession, political stability in eastern europe, oil prices etc.

acer, totally agree. No frenzy yet and probably won't be for a few years. As you say the changing political and economic landscape will determine holiday home and retirement choices in Europe and beyond. I must admit I was thinking of buying in Turkey but the political instability in the region coupled with increased flight times and costs put me off. I also have friends who bought in Bulgaria when prices in Spain were too high and are really regretting it. No rentals, not visiting much themselves, can't sell for anywhere near the price they paid. 

A major cause of the property price slump in Spain is that the market was highly influenced and largely dependent on the demand from buyers in other EU countries such as Germany, Holland and UK either wanting holiday homes in the sun or wanting to sell their existing homes at high prices in their home countries and move/retire to sunnier climes. The fall in the value of the Euro plus the still slow economies across most of Europe has meant that it is no longer such an economic advantage for people to consider this. The value of the Euro and the consequent depessed state of the European economy is effectively controlled by Germany and the low Euro suits them as it enables them to export more easily into areas outside of the EU.  Hence I don't see them making any real effort to change this situation soon and the demand for homes in Spain is unlikely to improve as long as this situation continues.