Upturn in Spanish housing sales.

April 10, 2010 – 10:43 am
Upturn in Spanish property market

Upturn in Spanish property market

There was a small upturn in Spanish housing sales during the fourth quarter of last year, according to recent data released by the Spanish Ministry of Housing.

The increase was small, but enough for the Government to get excited about: “The transactions in the fourth quarter represent a rise of 4.1% with respect to the same period last year, this being the first year-on-year rise since the fourth quarter of 2006″.

In fact, if you just look at the ordinary housing market, the upturn was even better. Excluding social housing there were 116,664 house sales in Q4, a rise of 5.5%. Regrettably, that’s where the good news ends.

Take the year as a whole, there 413,112 transactions last year, a fall of 19% compared to the previous year, and a whopping 46% down on 2007. Even the Q4 was down 33% compared to 2 years ago.

Some regions did better than others. Looking at a selection of regions popular with holiday home buyers, the inland province of Teruel suffered the most in 2009, down 36%, followed by Las Palmas in The Canaries, down 32%. At the other end of the scale, Spain’s two big cities did the best, down just 1.7% in Madrid and 3.9% in Barcelona.

The small national upturn in Q4 that got the Ministry excited was almost entirely driven by big increases in Catalonia and Madrid (Barcelona +35%, Madrid +41%). Why the big surge in home sales in those two cities in the last quarter of 2009? I don’t know. But I wouldn’t be surprised if it had more to do with banks shifting Spanish property around their balance sheets than families buying homes to live in.

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

Spain’s property recovery begins

April 3, 2010 – 10:01 am
Spain's property on the rise again?

Spain's property on the rise again?

The Spanish property market’s recovery has begun! That’s how some leading daily papers like El Pais are interpreting the latest figures from the National Institute of Statistics (INE) showing the market grew ever so slightly in January. The market appears to have found a floor, which is an improvement on the 2 years plus of monthly declines we had before.

The figures for January from the INE show that, excluding social housing, there were exactly 34,000 sales in January, up 1.4% over 12 months. A year-on-year increase of 1.4% is no big deal, but it’s a much needed respite when it is the first time in 3 years that the market has actually grown. And it’s difficult to dismiss it as a one off, because it is clear that the market has now found a floor around 30,000 transactions/month.

But, of course, we have to keep in mind that the market in January was 56% smaller than it was in January 2007, when it stood at 77,400 sales/ month. So a year on year improvement is good news, but peak-to-trough the Spanish property market is still just a shadow of its former self. If you dig into the figures you find that most of the improvement is now coming from resales, not new builds. New build sales kept the market from total annihilation last year.

A lot of the improvement came from big cities like Barcelona, Valencia, and Madrid, whereas sales continued falling in popular coastal regions like Malaga (Costa del Sol) and the Canaries, particularly Tenerife bucked this trend. So, when it comes to holiday homes, the market in many areas is still shrinking.

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

Protected coastal areas in Spain under threat

August 11, 2009 – 8:46 pm

A new report from international eco campaigners Greenpeace, Destruction at all Coasts 2009, says up to 8,000 kilometres of coast are threatened. It looked at 233 protected areas and found that 120 of them are under threat from construction, pollution or infrastructure.

Spain's coastline under threat?

Spain's coastline under threat?

Environmentalists are warning that many protected coastal areas in Spain are under threat from property development, some of which they claim is illegal.

The report also indicates that the world economic downturn, which has hit the Spanish property market hard, has not, however, acted as a buffer to protect endangered areas as there are some 562,000 properties, 29 golf courses, 51 harbours and 14 commercial centres either under construction or have planning approval in protected areas.

Spain’s coastlines have become a cemetery of cement and the last few remaining protected parts are in extreme danger of disappearing,’ said Greenpeace’s director in Spain, Juan Lopez de Uralde.

The report shows that Andalucia, Valencia and the Canaries are the worst. Some 21 areas are under threat in Andalucia including La Albufera Natural Park, Cabo de Gata-Nijar Natural Park and Grandilla.

It also points out that Spain has more legal proceedings open for abuse of the environment than any other country in the European Union.

Greenpeace wants the Spanish Government to tighten the country’s coastal law, to buy up protected land promise to demolish illegal buildings. Pilar Marcos, who is responsible for the Greenpeace coastal campaign in Spain, said that the organisation has noted 625 suspects in 478 cases of planning corruption and that more than half of these suspects hold public office in Spain.

Greenpeace also says that Spain had taken no steps to stop the deterioration of its coastline in recent years and done little to upgrade sanitation infrastructure and water treatment on the coast to keep up with development development needs, Greenpeace said.

‘Local Governments get most of their income from taxes and fees associated with building and construction, something which fuels the deterioration of the coastline. Solutions have not been applied by practically any institutions who are more concerned with short term benefit than the kind of future inherited by coming generations,’ the report said.

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

Property prices begin to stabilise in Spain and Tenerife

July 27, 2009 – 12:49 pm
Property prices stabilising in Tenerife and Spain

Property prices stabilising in Tenerife and Spain?

Spanish property prices fell by 9.8% over 12 months to the end of May, according to the latest Spanish property price index published by Tinsa, one of Spain’s leading appraisal companies.

For what they are worth, the figures represent a slight improvement on the previous month, when prices fell by 10.1%. It could be a sign that the slide in prices is beginning to stabilise, though more months will have to pass before we can call a trend.
Once again, coastal areas were the hardest hit, thanks to the concentration of second homes in those areas. Average prices in coastal municipalities fell by 12.8%.
House prices in the suburbs fell by 9.6%, and by 9.8% in The Balearics and The Canaries.
The problem with Tinsa’s figures is that, like the government’s figures, they bear little relation to the real world, where prices are down by at least 20% to 30% and again this may be the best time for those with cash to grab that bargain property in sunny Tenerife.

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