Calmer waters for the Spanish property market

When the man in charge of storm-tossed Great Britain's financial lifeboat admits he didn't see the financial tsunami heading in and is pictured in the media with his personnal buoyancy aid undone and his engine kill cord unattached, what hope of rescue for the UK property market?

That Capt Darling appears to have not a clue on how to turn the boat around and chart a course to calmer waters, suggests it might soon be case of "women and children first" as the ship of state hits flotation difficulties.

To many people, the overseas property scene and Britain's property scene are both one and the same - once good news stories that have now turned bad since the credit crunch hit, leading to nothing but trouble, losses and broken dreams.

However, property owners are in trouble only if they must sell and if the mortgage payments become unaffordable. Otherwise the current dip in values can be retrieved in future years because property prices always go back up and beyond their peak.

So now might be a good time to buy a property in Spain for those with spare cash as they will get more property for their investment and benefit when growing confidence begins to move prices upward again. A discount of 20-30 percent is a great equity gain and coupled with a much lower mortgage and lower still repayments is giving some out there good reasons to buy.

Nicholas Marr of property website www.homesgofast.com says investors who have enough money to avoid the credit crunch can pick up bargains in Spain. He explained: "Those buyers who are in the fortunate position not to require high loan to value finance are now reaping the rewards; they have the power.

"Buyers are still there and that they are picking and choosing the best products. The truth about the market is more subtle than just boom or bust, he added.

For those looking to invest, it seems the key is not to put things on hold until the storms die away and the sun shines again, but to seek the best deals that are now clearly out there...leaving Capt Darling to chart a rescue course for the UK property market...