All time record visits to Spain in August

Record numbers of visitors to Spain and Tenerife during August

In August this year 7.64 million foreign tourists visited Spain, an all-time record for the country.

According to reports from FRONTUR, August saw a 9.4 per cent increase in the number of tourists from 2010, indicating a new monthly high for the booming Spanish tourism industry.

Since the beginning of 2011, 40 million tourists have visited Spain, a 7.8 per cent increase over the same period last year. The Ministry of Industry which produces the tourist movement survey suggests that August visitor figures ‘reinforces the good prospects of Spain in 2011′ highlighted by the fourth best year in the history of Spanish tourism, a great achievement considering the economic recovery only began back in the second half of 2010.

Further data indicates that while Brits are one of the most regular and indeed loyal visitors to Spanish shores standing at 9.5 million, there has been impressive increases in numbers of other foreign visitors, with a rise in American, German and talian visitors. By destination, Catalonia was the largest recipient of foreign tourists receiving 1.9 million visitors in August, while the Balearic Islands followed closely behind with 1.8 million.

Ignacio Osle, Sales & Marketing Manager of Taylor Wimpey España, comments, “Despite difficult economic conditions across mainland Europe, Spain is one of the most resilient holiday destinations, remaining popular with foreigners whatever the market conditions. Recently, the IMF stated that Spain will be the only country that will experience higher levels of growth next year compared to its European counterparts of France, Italy and Greece.”

The rising number of overseas visitors continues to spell good news for the property industry. Osle adds: “Mallorca is one such destination that has performed better on the property front than its mainland counterparts offering strong rental market potential.”

Spain amongst top five destinations when leaving the UK

Spain andTenerife amongs the top five destinations when leaving the UK

Spain has been named among the top five destinations that people would consider moving to if they were going to leave the UK, new research has found. A survey conducted by Post Office International Payments revealed that the European nation, which was the fourth most popular location named in the poll, was a possible choice for ten per cent of those questioned. The firm also pointed out that it was the highest-placed nation where English is not the first language. One of the top reasons given for buying a property in Spain or elsewhere in the world is the chance to have a better quality of life, while other reasons to move included warmer weather, discovering a new culture and the adventure of emigrating.

Source: PropertyShowrooms.com

Euribor down a fraction in August

Euribor falls a fraction affecting mortgages in Tenerife and Spain

Euribor (12 months), the interest rate normally used to calculate mortgage repayments in Spain, fell a fraction to 2.097pc in August, a percentage fall of -3.9pc on the previous month.

The rise of Euribor seems to have peaked, at least for the time being. With markets fretting about a European debt crisis, expectations of rising interest rates have fallen, taking the heat off Euribor rates.

On an annualised basis, however, Euribor is still 48pc higher than it was a year ago, meaning higher monthly repayments for borrowers with variable-rate mortgages.

Repayments for a typical mortgage (150,000 Euros, 25 years) will go up by around 48 Euros /month, or 582 Euros / year, bad news for many a stretched household budget in Spain.

New mortgage lending collapsed 42pc in June (to 32,680 new mortgage approvals) compared to a year before, the 14th consecutive month of annualised falls, and one of the lowest levels on record.

The average new mortgage value signed in June was 109,431 Euros, down 8pc compared to June last year, with an average interest rate of 4.12pc, up 4.8pc on last year.

All of which means less money around to fuel demand for Spanish property, putting further downward pressure on prices.

Tax rules reforms by UK treasury

New UK treasury rules affect property owners in Tenerife.

New UK treasury reforms could see retirees who live and own property abroad able to spend up to a third of their time back home each year without paying any tax.

The new laws, to be implemented in April 2012 if they are passed, wll allow British retirees living abroad to be back in the UK for 119 days of the year before they are liable for any local taxes. This will come as positive news for many expats who live and own properties in European destinations such as France or Spain, but still spend a significant part of the year back in the UK seeing friends and family or for medical issues.

Under current regulations, expat retirees are only able to spend up to 90 days in the UK per year before they are deemed ‘resident’ and charged tax. Not only will this number of days be extended in the new laws, it will also allow those who have been home for under 90 days in the last 2 tax years able to retrospectively ‘claim back’ their extra days – in other words, they will be able to spend 182 days total in the UK next year before they are charged tax.

Chief executive of tax and investment planning firm Blevins Franks, David Franks, said the reforms would be a welcome relief for both British expats living abroad, and foreigners who own property in the UK and spend significant time there. “The new rules are a major advance in providing certainty for individuals who have homes in the UK and visit there frequently, so we hope they will be implemented”, he said. “They are still at the draft stage at the moment, but they have been welcomed by tax practitioners and so we do not expect any major changes.”

Hopefully, those expats in Tenerife will  be able to take advantage of the new rules when necessary.

Shop around for your foreign currency when buying property abroad

Take care when exchanging currency to purchase property in Tenerife and overseas

Independent analysis on the European property market found that average foreign property buyer spending £125,000 on their overseas home would receive €131,547 from a high street bank. However using a specialist foreign currency provider could result in an improved rate of €139,033 – a massive €7,486 difference equivalent to around £6,600, according to GSA.

The highest return on a £125,000 transfer was €139,650 offered by Currencies.co.uk, while the lowest was €131,062.50 offered by HSBC.

Just 10% of foreign currency transactions are made using a foreign currency provider, who can offer around 5.6% more than the High Street as they use commercial exchange rates to determine the value.

Savills International Research on second homes found that around 130,000 overseas properties were purchased by Britons between 2005 and 2009, potentially wasting millions as a result of poor exchange rates.

Spain and Tenerife amonst the property buying destinations for the Indian holiday market

European countries like Spain, Greece and Italy are among the latest property buying destinations for Indians in the holiday home segment after prices have crashed there, according to industry analysts and consultants. Real estate assets in exotic locales around the world are often packaged and marketed as “holiday homes”.

Even as Indians are restricted by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) ceiling while investing in overseas property, their numbers have risen in the recent past in buying a home away from home. RBI has capped the overseas property investment at $200,000 per person per year.

No concrete data is available to quantify the size of the market as far as Indians going abroad to buy property is concerned, said Anshul Jain, CEO (India), DTZ, an international real estate adviser headquartered in London. Jain, however, said the number of Indians investing in prime property abroad or buying holiday homes overseas has gone up substantially in the recent months.

Spain, Tenerife and the Canary Islands and Greece, which continue to be in the grip of the economic slowdown, have seen 40 to 50 per cent decline in holiday home prices from their peak level, according to Jain. One can acquire a holiday home in these European destinations at ¤250,000-300,000, estimates suggest.

Source: Business Standard

Spain comes out well for value in Post Office survey.

Spain is tops in value according to a Post Office survey.

It may come as a surprise to many considering its reputation as a playground for the rich and famous, but the cost of living on the glitziest isle of Spain’s Balearics has actually been found to be the lowest out of 12 popular European holiday destinations, according to a UK Post Office survey.

The Post Office’s Self Catering on a Shoe String Barometer 2011 compared data on the cost of basic supermarket items in popular holiday destinations such as the Algarve, Corfu and Brighton. While the average cost of a family shopping basket in the Cypriot capital of Limassol is a rather eye-watering £74.56, prices in glamorous Majorca are 80 percent cheaper, at £44.23.

The findings would come as no surprise to many local agents such as Ignacio Osle, sales director at Taylor Wimpey Espana, who insist that despite the island’s high-end reputation and its attractive summer calendar of yachting events drawing the super-rich, there are still plenty of affordable property buys to be found. “Mallorca, though recognised as a growing hub for the rich and famous, has plenty to offer in terms of affordable property”, says Osle. “It’s an investment goldmine with something for everyone.”

With prices currently on the low side due to the ongoing Spanish debt crisis, now could be the perfect time for buy to let investors to capitalise on this affordable holiday paradise, a convenient short-haul distance from major tourist markets such as the UK and France. Its excellent links from low-cost airlines – Ryanair flies twice daily to Palma from Stansted, while Easyjet is currently flying a whopping 8 times daily – also ensure getting there couldn’t be easier for the millions of Brits who have made Majorca the destination for their yearly summer sojourn.

End to the expats problems when buying homes in EU?

Guarantees for ex pats buying in Spain and Tenerife via ELRA?

EU parliament vice president Diana Wallis MEP has commended a pilot scheme that promises to end the probems experienced by expats when buying property in Spain,Tenerife and other EU countries.The scheme, set up by the European Land Registry Association and funded by the EU, allows for the purchasing procedure to be settled in the buyer’s home country and under the protective laws of that country. It also guarantees compensation for unknown restrictions and violation of the contract by the seller. Currently piloted in Holland and Spain, the Cross Border Electronic Conveyancing (CROBECO) scheme means that a Dutch buyer of Spanish real estate can apply Dutch law to the contract and ask a Dutch court for compensation from the seller if he later finds out there are unknown public limitations, such as retrospective planning laws, affecting the property. Pilots with other countries are expected later this year. Diana Wallis MEP (Liberal Democrats, UK), who has long campaigned for an EU-wide guarantee of legal certainty when buying cross-border, said: “I feel more and more convinced about the work of the Land Registry.

Source: Telegraph.co.uk

Property demand in Spain set to soar?

Property demand set to soar in Tenerife and Spain?

Demand for property in Spain could be set to soar as banks move to sell off billions of euros worth of distressed property assets.

Analysts have estimated that financial institutions in the country control more that €100 billion (£86.7 billion) in real estate, The National reports.

Most are second homes in developments built during a ten-year construction boom targeting the same European buyers.

There are anywhere from 700,000 to a million empty apartments and villas in Spain, the majority of them in coastal areas. Tenerife has its fair share of prime property  again at reasonable prices following the market correction.

Source: PropertyShowrooms.com

Real estate sector in Europe has the potential to double in size over the next five years

The European listed real estate sector has the potential to double in size over the next five years, according to Fraser Hughes, head of research at the European Public Real Estate Association (EPRA).

The European listed real estate sector has the potential to double in size over the next five years, according to Fraser Hughes, head of research at the European Public Real Estate Association (EPRA).

The main drivers will be banks looking to offload distressed property assets held on their books and private investors turning to REIT structures to realise the value of their investments, Hughes told a seminar at the Realty 2011 trade fair in Brussels on Wednesday.

‘A number of opportunities are converging that have the potential to double the current EUR 300 bn market capitalisation of the European listed real estate sector over the next five years under a best-case scenario,’ he said.

Hughes made the comments during a seminar on European real estate investment trusts (REITs). He said Europe’s three largest economies: Germany, France and the UK, have the greatest potential to increase the size of their domestic listed real estate sectors by between EUR 10 to EUR 50 bn each, but there also interesting situations emerging in Italy, Turkey, Spain and Ireland.

With the  all year round warm and sunny climate, Tenerife and the Canary Islands  are well positioned to be part of any increased interest.

Source: PropertyEU.info