Currently wherever you go in Spain people are talking about the "Crisis" and how bad and deep it will be or already is. The deep recession in Spain is without doubt difficult for many but positives are already starting to come out of it. This article is written as I want to point out some of them.
The recession brought hugely reduced interest rates. Those who have now lost their jobs are experiencing hugely reduced mortgage and loan repayments compared with last year. The drop in mortgage rates from 6% to 2% has had a huge effect on the number of repossessions. The average Spanish mortgage is 500 Euros per month less than it was last year. An extra 6000 Euros a year in your pocket can make a huge difference
Next, the combination of lower property prices and low interest rates means that good fixed rate mortgages on property are available meaning one can actually get a buy to let property at a decent price and give a return on investment if you let it. In 2006-7 this was virtually impossible.
There is much less competition around for estate agents which personally I find an excellent piece of news. Around 70-80% of estate agents have disappeared and it is only the best that remain.
Spain has a highly qualified workforce waiting for the chance to do a job. A very large proportion of its young people are unemployed and they would love to have a chance to show what they can do. When you ally this to the great transport infrastructure of roads, air and the fantastic rail system you have a great opportunity to open up a company here that can be competitive at both a national and international level.
The fact that with property values have tumbled is good news for buyers, if not sellers. Bargains under the Spanish sun are now much more prevalent.Buying a property for lifestyle reasons as opposed to an investment will get you a much greater value for money compared with a couple of years ago.
Spain remains a beautiful place to live as the basic fundamentals of the climate, the location and the lifestyle are all well in place. Spain remains the place that Northern Europeans will come to play in simply because of where it is. The country only needs to believe in itself a bit more.
Finally, Spain has a major strength in the field of renewable energy, transport and certain areas of technology related to these fields which it needs to develop. If the current economic storm forces Spain to become more competitive and more productive and this branches out into new technology and exports then perhaps the crisis will be a good thing long term as i delivers Spain from its overreliance on construction and tourism.
Whatever happens in the future, Spain is in a position that other countries do not envy currently. However we need to remember where Spain has come from. In the mid seventies it was a third world backwater coming out of 36 years of a brutal dictatorship. Spain has done a lot of catching up and may fall behind somewhat in the next few years but it has shown its resilience once and can do it again.