Asking prices for property in Spain fall

May 17, 2012 – 11:11 am

Property prices on the slide in Tenerife and Spain

Asking prices for Spanish homes fell 9.5pc over 12 months to the end of April, according to data from Idealista, a Spanish property portal.

With Spain back in recession, and banks refusing to lend on anything but their own properties, home owners trying to sell have no alternative but to drop their prices. The average resale property in Spain now has an asking prices of 1,993 €/m2, down from 2,202 €/m2 a year ago. On a monthly basis, asking prices fell 1pc in April.

Asking prices fell the most in Castilla La Mancha, Navarra , Murcia, and Extremadura, and the least in Castilla y Leon, La Rioja and Galicia.

You can read the full monthly house (asking) price index report from Idealista  here (pdf in Spanish)

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“Demand Thermometer” tool shows difference between asking and offer prices

March 6, 2012 – 11:38 am

Asking prices differ compared to buyers expectations in Spain and Tenerife

The “demand thermometer” tool from idealista, one of Spain’s leading property portals, allows us to see the difference between asking prices and what house-hunters are offering. On average, house-hunters offered 23pc less than asking prices in January, according to Idealista’s demand thermometer.

The biggest difference between asking prices and offers was in Malaga, home to the Costa del Sol, where house-hunters offered 29pc less than asking prices, followed by Soria (-28pc) and the Balearics (-27pc).

Differences of more than 25pc were also to be found in Girona (Costa Brava), Tarragona (Costa Dorada), Castellon (Costa Azahar), Murcia, and Almeria (Costa Calida), all popular locations with foreign holiday-home buyers.

So it seems there is still a big gulf between vendor expectations and what buyers are prepared to pay throughout Spain, Tenerife and the islands.

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Cheaper homes in Spain as sellers try to attract more buyers

February 17, 2012 – 2:33 pm

Cheaper rental and sale property prices in Tenerife and Spain

Resale Spanish property asking prices continued to fall last month, as more vendors slashed prices in a bid to secure a sale. The latest home price index published by idealista.com shows that the average price of a home in Spain depreciated by 9.4% compared to January 2011.

The figures provided by the Spanish property portal reveal that January 2012 was the worst month since the Spanish housing crisis started four years ago. On a month on month basis, asking prices of homes in the idealista.com database depreciated by 1.9% to an average price of €2,045sqm (£1,712sqm) suggesting that homeowners are becoming more realistic about the need to reduce property prices if they are going to have any chance of attracting more home buyers.

It represents the biggest fall in asking prices since idealista.com started publishing the index before the property crash got underway in 2008.

On a monthly basis, prices fell the most in Castille La Mancha (-2.3%), followed by The Balearics, Asturias and Andalucia (-2.1%).  With property prices falling, housing affordability has somewhat improved in Spain, based on average property prices versus average gross annual household income, which has fallen from 7.7 years at the peak of the property boom to a current rate of 6.2 years, according to the Bank of Spain.

Spanish families might welcome more affordable housing,  but housing is still much more expensive than it was before the boom, when it cost just 4 years gross annual income or less.

“There are several reasons why the affordability ratio has not improved more with falling property prices, including higher mortgage borrowing costs and lower household income, said Spanish property commentator Mark Stucklin.

He continued: “None of this really applies to the cost of holiday-homes on the coast, where prices have fallen substantially more than the national average, and where foreigners with higher incomes than the Spanish national average tend to buy.”


The average cost of renting a home in Spain also fell last year as rental prices depreciated in 77% of Spain’s primary rental markets, the latest to data from Idealista.com and the Public Rental Company show.

The greatest rental price decline was recorded in Toledo by 8.7%, followed by a 6.8% drop in Oviedo. In Spain’s largest cities of Barcelona, Madrid and Valencia rents fell by 3.1%, 1.3% and 4% respectively.
However, rents actually increased in Lleida, Bilbao and Alicante rentals, rising 11.2%, 4.2% and 4.1% respectively.

These rental price declines follow on from falls in 2010, suggesting that Spanish homes are becoming cheaper to rent, as well as buy.

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Rental prices fall in Spain’s cities

February 3, 2012 – 10:25 am

Rental property prices fall in Spain and Tenerife

Rental prices fell in 77pc of Spain’s primary rental markets (cities), according to a study by Spanish property portal Idealista and the Public Rental Company(SPA).

Rents fell the most in Toledo (-8.7pc) and Oviedo (-6.8pc) but rose in Lleida (+11.2pc), Bilbao (+4.2pc), and Alicante (+4.1pc).

The average cost of renting a home in Spain declined in 2011, as you would expect with property prices falling.

In Spain’s biggest cities, rental prices fell 1.3pc in Madrid, 3.1pc in Barcelona and 4pc in Valencia.

The latest annual rental decline follows a bigger decline in 2010, so the cost of both buying and renting a homes in Spain has been getting cheaper for several years.

The study was based on 38,000 properties listed for rent in the 12 months to the end of December.

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Spanish property bargains

November 11, 2011 – 10:52 am

Property bargains in Spain and Tenerife

Despite dramatic property price reductions by many vendors across Spain, bargain hunters are taking advantage of the weak Spanish property market and are offering considerably below asking prices, fresh research shows.

 The latest figures provided by Idealista reveals that in September, the average offer made online through the Spanish property portal was 21.7% below the asking price. Having analysed over 500,000 offers since January 2011, Idealista’s research found that January, March and September are the months with the greatest volume of offers made by purchasers, whilst June was the weakest month in terms of demand. Spanish property investment opportunities The majority of Spanish property investors – 73% – believe that the Spanish property market will improve within the next 18 months, according to a new survey.

The latest study by international property consultants CB Richard Ellis found that three in four Spanish property investors expect market conditions to improve, despite the fact that prices are still falling across many parts of the country. The latest property investment barometer from CB Richard Ellis showed that Spain is expected to improve in early 2013, while 57% of those surveyed said they planned to invest in the Spanish property market within the next 6 months. The majority of investors are interested in buying commercial properties, rather than residential, with half of investors looking to buy offices, while 40% are interested in prime shopping centres. Just 7% of investors said that they plan to buy residential property.

A lack of mortgage liquidity remains a major stumbling block in Spain, which is why three in five investors believe that foreign investors with greater access to financing will drive the market recovery. Take advantage of the weak Spanish property market Domestic investors are taking centre stage in Spain’s investment market making up 66.2% of investors in Q1-Q3 2011, up from 33.3% in the same period in 2010 according to international real estate advisor Savills. Total volume in Spain’s investment market totalled almost €1.25bn (£1.07bn) in the first three quarters of 2011. The firm notes that as well as ongoing sales of large mixed use portfolios which banks are attempting to remove from their balance sheets, local authorities are also selling assets to gain liquidity.

Both the Andalusian and Catalan Regional Governments have portfolios on the market, including well-located office assets, which Savills observes are attracting interest from both opportunistic and core investors. Danny Kinnoch, international investment director Savills Spain, says: “In recent times there has been a two tier market with opportunistic investors focused on portfolio and large scale individual deals while the more traditional core investors remain focused on well-located, high-quality assets with high occupancy rates and solvent tenants on long-term lease contracts. Domestic investors continue to dominate the core market but international players remain on the lookout for opportune deals.” According to Savills major international players including Orion, RREEF, Generali Lend Lease, Doughty Hanson, AXA, Perella Weinberg and Rockspring have all been active this year. Savills has observed increased investor interest in Spain’s hotels market, a shift from the historically dominant retail and office markets and a reflection of the strength of tourism in a challenging economic climate. Key deals in the first three quarters of 2011 include Grupo Millenium’s purchase of two hotel assets, Hesperia Madrid from Hesperia for €80m (£69m) and Tryp Centro Norte from Colonial for €30m (£27m), both in Madrid as well as Mansion Services’ acquisition of Intercontinental Madrid from Morgan Stanley for approximately €68m (£58m). The total investment volume Q1-Q3 represents a fall of 52% compared to the same period in 2010, but with more realistic pricing and improved market sentiment Savills expects 2012 investment volumes to improve on 2011. Kinnoch says: “With an improvement in market sentiment in relation to other Euro countries combined with more realistic pricing taking into account the macro-economic situation in Spain, we expect 2012 investment volumes to exceed those of 2011.”

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Spanish property hunters offer 20% less than asking price

November 1, 2011 – 1:53 pm

Offers made for property in Spain and Tenerife lower than previous

In September, the average offer made online through the Spanish property portal idealista.com was 21.7pc below the asking price. Idealista offer a tool to research the difference between offers and asking prices by area.

Idealista allow house hunters to make offers online, and have analysed more than 500,000 offers since January. The research reveals that January, March and September are the months with the greatest number of offers made by house-hunters, whilst June was the weakest month in terms of demand.

According to Fernando Encinar, head of research at Idealista.com, demand is strong but house-hunters “can’t afford asking prices and are making offers they can afford to try and close the sale.”

Tenerife offers according to the research are down 28.7%

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Average asking prices down for resale properties say Idealista

July 15, 2011 – 10:23 am

Resale property prices fall say Idealista

Average asking prices for resale properties in the Idealista database dropped 8.2pc over 12 months to 2,179€/m2, a quarterly fall of 1.8pc.

“The latest price index from Idealista confirms a worsening in the market situation,” explains Fernando Encinar, head of research at Idealista. “The price of resale flats is falling in ever more municipalities, and the discount is getting bigger.”

The Canaries index was down by 2.9% . If you are looking for a bargain and deal with a reputable estate agent, this could be the time to take the plunge in Tenerife.

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

Estate agents surveyed throughout Spain for their views on the property market.

April 5, 2011 – 1:01 pm

Property sales increase in Tenerife, especially in the prime property market.

During February Idealista surveyed 400 estate agents all over Spain for their views on the property market today. They found that 30% of vendors accepted up to 10% lower, 43% accepted between 10 and 20% lower, 19% between 20 and 30% less, and 7% more than 30% less.

The change in stock of properties for sale since the end of 2010 resulted in a 58% of agents reported an increase. 88% of vendors were more open to offers than a year ago . The main reasons why sales fall through is that vendors were asking too much in 26% of cases, buyers offering too little in 40% of cases (remember, this is all in the opinion of estate agents), and banks not giving finance in 34% of cases.

Although there have been af fall in  enquiries so far this year, falls up to 20pc or more say 51%, whilst 24% say an increase of up to 10%.So life is not all bad in the property sector.

In sales so far this year, there have been falls of up to 20% or more say 71%, whilst 19% say an increase of up to 10%. The expectations for the first quarter of the year (compared to same period last year) are  47% say worse, 27% say the same, 26% say better and for the year, 33% say worse, 28% say the same, and 38% say better.

I wonder who will be correct? Certainly current  property sales in Tenerife indicate a brighter future for the sector, especially sales of prime property in good areas and by the coast.

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

Asking prices increase states Facilismo

December 15, 2010 – 3:04 pm

Property prices on the rise once more in Spain and its islands?

Facilismo.com states that between October and November, vendors put up their asking prices by an average of 0.05%, the first time Facilisimo’s asking price index has increased since June 2007, bringing to an end 40 months of monthly price declines. Compared to November last year, asking prices were still down 4.2pc, but that is the lowest annualised decline this year.

Asking prices rose month-to-month in eight regions lead by Galicia (+3.46pc), Cantabria (+2.73pc) and Murcia (+1.19pc), and declined in eight regions lead by Navarre (-1.32pc), Aragon (-0.34pc), and The Valencian Community (-0..24pc).

“The end of mortgage tax relief and the almost total lack of new construction means that price declines are coming to an end,” explains Juanra Doral, head of Facilisimo.com. “Despite the government urging vendors to lower their prices, the majority will only do so if they really have to, preferring to maintain the present minimum value.”

But according to Idealista.com, another big Spanish property portal, (resale) asking prices fell 1.2pc in November compared to the previous month.

Prices fell in 14 regions, compared to 11 the previous month, and at an increasing rate. Asking prices rose a fraction in just 2 regions; Extremadura and Asturias, didn’t change in Andalucia, and fell the most in The Canaries (-2.4pc) and The Valencian Region (-1.4pc).

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

Notary fees cheaper in Spain after government cuts

June 5, 2010 – 5:20 pm
A reduction in notary fees on property purchases in Spain and Tenerife

A reduction in notary fees on property purchases in Spain and Tenerife

The government has announced a 5% reduction in notary and registry fees on property deeds as part of a package of measures to reduce the deficit and stimulate the economy. Notaries and Registrars are upset at this attack on their earnings, whilst house buyers will hardly notice the difference the savings are so small.

How big a saving will that 5% reduction in notary and registry fees give the average home buyer in Spain? Between €35 for a property costing €150,000, and €45 for a home costing €300,000, according to calculations done by Idealista.es, a Spanish property portal. Almost insignificant really.

Notaries and registrars are upset as the latter’s fees are already down by 50% thanks to the slump in property transactions.

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