British buyers are losing out on the amazing property bargains in Spain as the Dutch show more courage, the Belgians more muscle and even the French recognise a good deal when they see one.
These Euro-zone countries do not have the adverse currency problems of would-be Brit buyers, who now have to recognise that the once mighty Pound is worth just one Euro and is unlikely to do better than this for some years. The McBroon fiscal foul-ups have allowed sterling to decline by 30%, removing the long-held extra buying power when it comes to getting a home in sunny Spain.
But there is still a chance for Brit Over-50s, fed-up with the general decline of the UK, to realise their dream of a full-time or part-time life in Spain. In many cases the current asking prices are showing discounts that more than compensate for the currency exchange losses and with prices bottoming out right now, there is a good chance of an equity gain in future years.
The Spanish property market is bouncing back as the banks sell off their liquidation stock of key ready homes taken from cash-strapped developers in exchange for unpaid bank loans. Spanish families are getting an increasing share because they are on the spot when the best deals come up – like La Caixa bank selling 120 apartments over a weekend and Santander selling 24 properties in a single day.
But the Dutch, Belgians and French have organised themselves and are finishing up with far more bargains than the Brits who seem shell-shocked by the McBroon machinations and its effect on their life plans. They browse the Spanish bank repossessions on specialist websites like PropertyInSpain.Net, make excited inquiries but then, seemingly, decide to wait a bit longer in case the prices drop further.
A bargain costing EUR 100,000 (discounted typically by 30%) needs a cash commitment of EUR 30,000 to cover deposit and buying costs while low interest mortgage payments can be offset by summer rentals if necessary. If the market returns in 3-5 years the recovered equity of 30% equates to the initial buying costs.
That’s the way the other European buyers are seeing the deals and they are enjoying the benefits right now as prices are bottoming out. That might be the signal that gets the Brits off their butts and into the buying fray?
Showing posts with label must sell spanish property. Show all posts
Showing posts with label must sell spanish property. Show all posts
14 October 2009
12 January 2009
A wobble for Spanish property
It’s a New Year and a new marketplace for the Spanish property sector, as the bargain hunters for Costa villas and apartments gather like UK High Street shoppers prowling for closure sales and colossal discounts…
With developers and builders going down all over Spain and estate agents shutting up shop on a daily basis, 2008 was clearly the worst year ever for the property business in Spain.
The economic crisis buffeting in Spain sent the number of bankruptcies soaring by 182% to 2,864 in 2008, 38% of them in the real estate sector, reveals a new report from Pricewaterhouse Coopers. “Between October and December there were more insolvency proceedings than in all of 2007,” says the report, which warns that the commercial courts could collapse under the workload if this trend continues in 2009.
Bankruptcies amongst developers and brokers rose from 74 in 2007 to 387 in 2008, and in the construction sector from 182 to 692. The rapidly rising number of property companies being forced into administration, like Martinsa-Fadesa, is likely to have a significant impact on the market.
There is even more bad news - the number of Spanish properties bought and sold in October (39,201) was 27.5% less than the same time last year, according to the latest figures from the Spain’s National Institute of Statistics (INE). In the first 10 months of the year, sales are down by 28.4% compared to last year.
That means that the Spanish property market has shrunk by almost 30% in a year. Instead of producing 600,000 homes a year, it’s now doing 400,000 – still more than the UK, Germany and France combined.
So, maybe, more of a wobble than a disaster? A viewed now shared by many buyers in Northern European countries where growing recession, ineffectual Government action and uncertain futures are combining to focus on grabbing some of the property bargains available in Spain.
While new build prices are falling 6.6%, the biggest ever recorded, according to Sociedad de Tasación, one of Spain’s leading appraisal companies, there are plenty of homes – key ready with 10 year guarantees and resales with appliances and furniture – that can be snapped up at prices 30-50% below their current valuations.
It seems that enough is enough for many families and retirees in the UK and other colder climes and they are now clamouring for the big discounts in the warm, welcoming Costas.They Google search for “Spanish bank repossessions” and “Half-price property in Spain” or even “Must sell Spanish homes” and they find the top ranked source for exactly this kind of property.
It’s PropertyInSpain.Net, a long established website with a good affiliate network on the ground to help registered buyers find the best deals. They have 1,000s of bargains and an online showcase of properties to tempt the discount hunters. Just as important, the banks are prepared to lend up to 80% of the price, given the unprecedented loan to value ratios.
Massive discounts, generous low cost mortgages, cheap flights to a still low-cost country from a high-cost, chaotic homeland threatened with burgeoning tax bills for decades, is a bit of a no-brainer for the 250 families a week registering for Spanish bargains…
With developers and builders going down all over Spain and estate agents shutting up shop on a daily basis, 2008 was clearly the worst year ever for the property business in Spain.
The economic crisis buffeting in Spain sent the number of bankruptcies soaring by 182% to 2,864 in 2008, 38% of them in the real estate sector, reveals a new report from Pricewaterhouse Coopers. “Between October and December there were more insolvency proceedings than in all of 2007,” says the report, which warns that the commercial courts could collapse under the workload if this trend continues in 2009.
Bankruptcies amongst developers and brokers rose from 74 in 2007 to 387 in 2008, and in the construction sector from 182 to 692. The rapidly rising number of property companies being forced into administration, like Martinsa-Fadesa, is likely to have a significant impact on the market.
There is even more bad news - the number of Spanish properties bought and sold in October (39,201) was 27.5% less than the same time last year, according to the latest figures from the Spain’s National Institute of Statistics (INE). In the first 10 months of the year, sales are down by 28.4% compared to last year.
That means that the Spanish property market has shrunk by almost 30% in a year. Instead of producing 600,000 homes a year, it’s now doing 400,000 – still more than the UK, Germany and France combined.
So, maybe, more of a wobble than a disaster? A viewed now shared by many buyers in Northern European countries where growing recession, ineffectual Government action and uncertain futures are combining to focus on grabbing some of the property bargains available in Spain.
While new build prices are falling 6.6%, the biggest ever recorded, according to Sociedad de Tasación, one of Spain’s leading appraisal companies, there are plenty of homes – key ready with 10 year guarantees and resales with appliances and furniture – that can be snapped up at prices 30-50% below their current valuations.
It seems that enough is enough for many families and retirees in the UK and other colder climes and they are now clamouring for the big discounts in the warm, welcoming Costas.They Google search for “Spanish bank repossessions” and “Half-price property in Spain” or even “Must sell Spanish homes” and they find the top ranked source for exactly this kind of property.
It’s PropertyInSpain.Net, a long established website with a good affiliate network on the ground to help registered buyers find the best deals. They have 1,000s of bargains and an online showcase of properties to tempt the discount hunters. Just as important, the banks are prepared to lend up to 80% of the price, given the unprecedented loan to value ratios.
Massive discounts, generous low cost mortgages, cheap flights to a still low-cost country from a high-cost, chaotic homeland threatened with burgeoning tax bills for decades, is a bit of a no-brainer for the 250 families a week registering for Spanish bargains…
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