Spanish Banks to create estate agency?

March 18, 2009 – 9:52 am

From Spanish bank to estate agency?

Around half of Spain’s savings banks are joining together to create an ‘estate agent’ to sell defaulted property and developments worth £2.7 billion…

A new company, Ahorro Corporación Soluciones Inmobiliarias (ASCI), will be managed by Ahorro Corporación, a financial services firm jointly owned by the savings banks.

It aims to become the biggest estate agents in Spain using 17,000 local bank branches offering property for sale and to rent.

It is hoped that it will help to offload a huge number of properties that are now owned by the banks and discounts of up to 25 per cent are expected.

So far 23 of Spain’s 42 savings banks have joined. Caja Madrid and La Caixa, Spain’s two largest savings banks, are not yet part of the scheme but they are looking at the situation closely.

The new company will sell all types of property including land, developments under construction, commercial real estate, industrial property, hotels, and homes. The company claims that it already has stock for sale valued at £2.7 billion.

Residential properties will be offered for sale at discounts of up to 25 per cent, and the banks also have the option of offering finance to buyers. Most of the residential stock so far is reported to be made up primary residences, but holiday homes on the coast will also be on offer.

The move will also allow the banks to wipe impaired property assets off their balance sheets. However, if discounts are to be offered the process could also involve write downs, which could reduce their capital.

Some newspaper reports in Spain claimed it was the creation of a ‘bad bank’ dealing in toxic assets but this was denied by Antonio Fernández, Head of Ahorro Corporación

By Angela | Posted in Economy, General, Holiday, Miscellaneous Articles, Property, Tenerife | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (0)

Industry and Tourism ministry inject £537 million into tourist infrastructure in Spain.

March 4, 2009 – 4:50 pm

Injection of cash for tourism in Tenerife

Injection of cash for tourism in Tenerife

The Industry and Tourism Ministry in Spain has announced its decision to inject £537  million into the country’s (including its dependencies’, such as Tenerife) tourist infrastructure…

The Government has already provided £358 million for the modernisation of ageing hotels and other holiday accommodation to assist them in keeping up with more up-to-date establishments in popular sunny resorts. Now a further boost of £537 million for Property in Spain is to follow.

One of the Government’s aims is to make jobs available to huge numbers of out-of-work construction workers who lost their livelihoods after the real estate collapse of 2008.

In fact, the Spanish tourist industry accounts for 11 per cent of jobs and the Gross Domestic Product in the country as people from abroad are attracted to its sunny southern coasts.

The Ministry made the following statement, “The granting of 100 per cent of the planned credit in such a short period of time is evidence that the modernisation of tourism infrastructure is a key demand of the sector.”

Industry and Tourism Ministry figures from last month reveal that 2.6 million foreign tourists visited Spain, a decline of 10.1 per cent from last year. The decline in tourism is partly due to the recession and the decrease in value of the pound.

Britain provides the greatest number of tourists to Spain. Last year saw a significant decline in British tourists but the situation did begin to improve in January.

By Angela | Posted in Economy, General, Holiday, Property, Tenerife | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (0)

“No” to price cuts. They ‘would be suicide’ insists business sector.

February 8, 2009 – 4:16 pm

No price cuts in Canarian tourism sector

Business leaders in the Canaries and Spain have responded angrily to calls, including one by the president of the Canaries, for hotels to drop their prices to prevent tourist numbers from falling further.

Prices will not be adjusted to the current situation despite calls for these measures in the difficult economical times. Both the head of the Spanish Assocation of Chambers and the Las Palmas regional Chamber have called the idea ludicrous. ‘We did just that in the 90s and have still not recovered from the problems it caused. Prices were cut by 20% when the fall in numbers was just 3%’ said Spanish chief Javier Gómez during a visit to the Canaries’ stand at the FITUR holiday fair yesterday.

By Angela | Posted in Economy, General, Holiday, Miscellaneous Articles, Tenerife | Tagged , , , | Comments (0)

Bargains for Brits heading for Tenerife sun?

January 19, 2009 – 4:19 pm

Bargains for Brits travelling to Tenerife

Bargains for Brits travelling to Tenerife

Hotels have slashed rates in desperate bid to boost business as Brits start to look outside the Eurozone for their holidays…

Tourists to Spain this summer are set to benefit as most hotels cut their rates by up to a third to counter the Pound’s fall against the Euro.

According to reports in the Daily Express, Spanish tourism chiefs are worried that Brits will choose resorts outside the Eurozone this summer such as Turkey and Egypt.

Mid-range hotels in Benidorm, one of Spain’s largest resorts are offering rooms with full board in July for just £45 per night.

The British market is key for Spain, but with the poor value of the Pound against the Euro and the current economic climate the tourist industry fears people may drop the Costas in favour of other locations this year if attractive deals aren’t offered.

Alicante is one region which is heavily dependent on tourism and one million Britons flock there every year, making up 50 per cent of all overseas tourists.

The Costa Blanca Tourist Board has revealed that tourist numbers were down 300,000 last year compared with 2007, and hotels registered a 20 per cent drop in guests. They now fear this year could be even worse.

Also in the Canary Islands, which are famous for their winter sun, there has been a fall in the number of visitors so far this winter by 15 per cent, while in the Costa del Sol winter tourists are down by 17 per cent.

According to figures from the foreign office around 12 million British tourists visit Spain every year - accounting for almost one in three tourists to Spain.

In order to ensure visitor numbers don’t drop further there are a lot of competitive deals in Spain at the moment as it is still the number one choice for British holidaymakers. However, for those who want to take advantage of these offers the message is to get in quick.

Owners of holiday  homes in Spain may also need to bear in mind these attractive hotel deals when setting their rates for summer 2009, and may also need to give special offers if they want their property occupied throughout the summer months.

By Angela | Posted in Economy, General, Holiday, Tenerife, Weather | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (0)

Investors eye Tenerife for bargains

November 19, 2008 – 5:38 pm

Springtime in Tenerife

Though never really scorching, Tenerife is pleasantly warm all year round (not for nothing is it known as ‘the Island of eternal Spring’). With tourism on the rise as, for many people, Spain simply gets too hot, sticky and crowded in the summer months.

In view of this, the occupancy of property in Tenerife is generally in the range of 70% and 90% allowing investors to make rental yields of around 8% depending on how much they use their properties themselves.

Capital appreciation on apartments is likely to be around 10% -15% annually when looking at the long term (10-15 years), this despite the recent downturn in the world’s economy.

While Tenerife’s property prices are slightly higher than some of the emerging markets, you are paying a

The lovely Parque Don Jose complex, Costa del Silencio

The lovely Parque Don Jose complex, Costa del Silencio

little extra for the safety of buying a property that you can use/rent-out straight away, and in a secure, established environment which also has a well developed infrastructure already geared up for tourism, making the property easy to market for holiday rentals.

Just one example of the opportunities in Tenerife is the suburb of Costa del Silencio, where planning permission was recently granted for a new five star hotel with an artificial beach and a spa. This clearly suggests that the area is seen as a new growth area. Also in Costa del Silencio, the lovely Parque Don José complex has just received an EU grant to be used for making a massive upgrade to the resort, which of course will push prices upwards.

Now is probably the time to buy in Tenerife’s Costa del Silencio as prices have fallen dramatically over the last few months (as they have throughout the world).

By Angela | Posted in Property, Tenerife | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments (1)