Almost 1 in 5 Spanish mortgages signed between 2004 and 2008 are or will become delinquent

November 24, 2011 – 10:11 am

1 in 4 Spanish mortgages in Tenerife and Spain in trouble

Almost 1 in 5 Spanish mortgages signed between the bubble years 2004 and 2008 are or will become delinquent, according to a study by an association of home owners facing foreclosure (AFES).

AFES calculate that more than 700,000 families will have had their homes repossessed by 2015.

Specifically, there were 4 million home purchases between 2004 and 2008,  the bubble years of the Spanish property boom  of which 170,000 have already been foreclosed, another 170,000 are in process, and another 375,000 are expected to be repossessed by 2015.

All this at a time when there are more than 3 million empty homes in Spain.

The victims of this drama “borrowed more than they could cope with based on false expectations of rising property prices and employment,” explain AFES. “They never imagined they would lose their jobs and that property prices would crash.”

AFES propose partial or total debt forgiveness by banks, more mortgage lending, and lower property prices to making housing affordable. “The big social drama is that after losing their homes people are saddled with debts they can never afford to pay,” said Carlos Baños, President of AFES.

By Angela | Posted in Economy, General, Health, Holiday, Inspirational, Property, Tenerife, Things to Do, Weather | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (0)

Spanish property hangs on to most of the boom time gains

November 14, 2011 – 9:41 am

Spanish property hangs on to most of the gains from the boom years

Spanish property has managed to hang onto most of the capital gains it made during the boom, at least according to official figures. Other Eurozone countries have fared worse.

During the boom, the only Eurozone countries that experienced higher property price inflation than Spain (+155pc) were Ireland (+172pc) and Malta (+157pc), according to a new report from the European Commission.

Since the bubble burst, Irish property prices have fallen 38pc, and Maltese property prices by 11pc. In Spain, prices are down 22pc, according to the official house price index from the Government (-24pc according to the latest Tinsa index).

That means that Spanish property has managed to hang onto around three quarters of the capital gains it made during the boom, no mean feat given the economic crisis, credit crunch, and collapse in sales (Spanish property sales down 40pc in August alone).

By Angela | Posted in Economy, General, Health, Holiday, Inspirational, Property, Tenerife, Things to Do, Weather | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (0)

Plenty of advice for Tenerife property hunters at Property Investor Show

March 30, 2011 – 2:08 pm

Property bargains in Tenerife, Canary Isles and Spain

Lots of advice, plenty of opportunities and optimistic statements, but fewer exhibitors at the Property Investor Show, the UK’s premier event for property investors held last weekend at London Docklands Exel Exhibition centre.

However, there was plenty of essential information on “Where to” and “How to” invest provided from keen exhibitors just about managing to cope with the early rush of visitors with property investment on their minds. More than 30 seminars focused on topics ranging from “How to Spot a boom and a bust” to “How to win in a recession”.

Many small investors, were looking to acquire from the ongoing “Sale of the Decade” in the Spanish market, where banks are disposing of their unwanted toxic assets with huge discounts of up to 56% and generous mortgages between 80-111%.  A spokesman for a Spanish distressed property site  added: “Putting your money in the  Spanish property markets could be the perfect hedge for investors with sunny Spain for family holidays and some equity gain a few years down the line.”

Two properties can be bought for a realistic amount in Spain – one to rent out, the second for family enjoyment, with equity gains to look forward to when prices start to rise again in the world’s top second home destination.

Tenerife and the Canary Islands have some excellent bargains, even in the prime property sector, but prices will be rising again soon judging by the renewed interest of late.

By Angela | Posted in Economy, General, Health, Holiday, Inspirational, Miscellaneous Articles, Property, Tenerife, Things to Do, Weather | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (0)

A good time to buy in Tenerife?

January 17, 2011 – 9:45 am

Bargains abound so this could be a good time to buy prime property in Tenerife

During Spain’s runaway housing boom of the last decade, tens of thousands of new homes were built on the coast with foreign buyers in mind. Unfortunately, foreign buyers didn’t  buy in expected numbers, which partly explain why Spain has such a glut of new homes on the coast.

The number of purchases of holiday-homes by foreigners have reduced considerably. They are down 87pc in the first 9 months of the year compared to the same period in 2006, and -16pc Q3/Q2 . At this rate foreigners buying holiday homes will do nothing to help absorb Spain’s glut of new homes. The figures are difficult to believe, just 490 sales in 3 months over the summer. Hopefully the  figures are not accurate, but if they are who will buy all those empty holiday-homes?  Certainly not the  vast number of unemployed Spaniards.

It is clear that vendors in areas such as Tenerife have realised that  in order to achieve a sale, the price needs to be right and so they have made the necessary ajustments to the sale cost. In fact, with the number of bargains now around in Tenerife and the Canary Islands, this is probably a good time to consider purchasing a second home or a property to rent out for income purposes. If you buy good quality prime property in a  coastal location, you could do  well.

By Angela | Posted in Economy, General, Health, Holiday, Inspirational, Miscellaneous Articles, Property, Tenerife, Things to Do | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (0)

The rise and fall of the Spanish property boom

April 13, 2010 – 3:12 pm
Foreign investment in Spanish property has hit a decade low

Foreign investment in Spanish property has hit a decade low

If you want to chart the rise and fall of the Spanish property boom look no further than the foreign investment figures, published by the Bank of Spain.  Foreigners invested 3.7 billion Euros in Spanish property last year, the lowest level since 1999, when it was 2.9 billion.

In percentage terms, foreign investment in Spanish real estate was down 32% last year compared to 2008, and by 48% compared to 2003, when foreign investment in Spanish property peaked.

The surprising thing is the increase in foreign investment in 2007 and 2008, when the market was already cooling fast. This might have something to do with the massive corporate property investments that took place at decadent end of Spain’s property boom, before the credit crunch struck.

Going the other way, the amount invested by Spaniards in property outside of Spain fell 45% last year to 1.8 billion Euros.

By Angela | Posted in Economy, General, Health, Holiday, Inspirational, Miscellaneous Articles, Property, Tenerife, Things to Do, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments (0)