High end Spanish property performing well

January 31, 2012 – 9:45 am

High end property in Tenerife and Spain performing well

Despite tough market conditions for property in Spain, one company has posted its most successful operational year to date in 2011, showing the appetite for high-end Spanish real estate has not waned.

2011 saw Lucas Fox doubling its staff, opening new offices and posting record-breaking third quarter profits of 19.5 Million euros, proof of the continued appeal of Spain among the cash rich. Among the most popular areas for investment were Barcelona, the Costa Brava and Mallorca where investors snapped up boutique and luxury pads.

Aimar Valls, Head of Commercial & Investment Property commented, “In the last year we have received a dramatic rise in both the quantity and quality of enquiries for commercial and investment property. Central Barcelona is a hot-spot for hotels, hotel projects and buildings with potential for tourist apartment rentals.

And the company is also optimistic about their fortunes in 2012. Director Alex Vaughan explains, “Our transaction pipeline is already looking strong and the outlook for the year is very encouraging. We start 2012 with over 5,000 active property buyers registered from Northern and Eastern Europe, Russia, Scandinavia, the Middle East, the U.S and China.”

Source: APlaceintheSun.com

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Bargain homes in Spain prove popular with international buyers.

January 26, 2012 – 10:05 pm

Bargain hunters in property are investing in Tenerife and Spain

Overseas nationals spent €3.6bn (£2.3bn) on buying homes in Spain in 2011, as they took advantage of significantly discounted properties, according to data supplied by the Bank of Spain. The figures show that foreign property investment in Spain increased by 27% last year compared to the preceding year.

With Spain’s economy in turmoil and the housing market in disarray, owed largely to a major oversupply of homes, property prices have been in freefall, attracting more bargain hunters in the process. The hike in property sales in 2011 marks a second consecutive year of growth in international investment with 2011 beating the total value of transactions in 2010.

Many property professionals believe that the rise in foreign investment activity is a sign that property market conditions are improving. Spanish journalist Daniel Talavera  believes that the Spanish property market is now touching rock bottom of the downturn.

“2011 has probably been the worst year in terms of property prices and sales drop. If the price fall in 2010 was by 3% compared to 2009, the mentioned fall of 6.85% in 2011 compared to 2010 confirms that the market is reaching its lowest at the right speed.”

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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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Santander in talks to sell apartments to New York group

October 26, 2011 – 4:06 pm

The Spanish Banco Santander banking group is widely reported to be in talks to sell approximately 12,000 repossessed Spanish apartments to a group of Wall Street investment funds.

Cerberus Capital Management LP and Goldman Sachs Group Inc are understood to be bidding against a Morgan Stanley fund, say the reports, which cited unidentified sources close to the talks.

Santander still has about €6 billion of property to sell, according to the reports this week. Santander’s press office has declined to comment on the rumours.

The 12,000 properties concerned are thought to be worth up to €3bn. Santander is still hampered with a real estate portfolio worth €8.33bn – all of which it has acquired since the credit crunch of 2008. It remains keen to tidy up its balance sheet by selling off the properties.

Source: OPP.org.uk

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Good news from the Spanish property market

October 18, 2011 – 8:58 am

Propert sales improve in Spain and Tenerife especially prime property by the coast

At last some good news from the Spanish property market , foreign investment is up strongly on last year. Foreigners invested 1.3 billion Euros in Q2 this year, up 16pc on the first quarter and 37pc on the same time last year, according to figures from the Bank of Spain.

Foreign investment is still some way (32pc) from the peak it reached in Q2 2003, when it hit 1.9 billion Euros, but there has been a clear improvement in the last 2 quarters.  Sales to foreigners have picked up as prices fall, showing how price-sensitive foreign demand for Spanish holiday homes is.

Certainly prime property on or near the coast in Tenerife is attracting greater interest once more.

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

Brits considering luxury property in Tenerife and Spain again

August 10, 2011 – 5:36 pm

Luxury and prime property is selling well again in Tenerife and Spain.

Britons seeking their own slice of heaven abroad are increasingly considering luxury Spanish properties.

Experts say the sun-drenched country is once again proving popular with overseas property hunters, but they are now adopting a more cautious approach than that seen during the Spanish housing boom prior to the global economic downturn.

Buyers are seeking out investment properties that meet their precise requirements, and that has generally meant properties with a more luxurious feel. In Tenerife,  prime coastal properties are selling well.

The trend appears to be backed up by a report from the Overseas Guide Company which reveals a rise in the number of requests it has received for information about the Spanish property market.

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

Demand for property in Tenerife and Spain may increase after Arab Investment Forum takes place in Murcia

June 27, 2011 – 8:44 am

Arab Spanish Investment Forum may increase interest in Tenerife prime property

Demand for property in Spain could be set to increase following news that the city of Murcia has been chosen to host the Arab Investment Forum.

The event gathers together over 70 per cent of the Arab world’s most prominent investors for two days of networking and discussion, Select Property reports.

Salvador Marin, regional minister of universities, business and research in Murcia said the main objective of the forum would be to “promote investment and the potential of the region”.

Event organisers noted that the region has been selected specifically for its economic importance. It has a strong business sector, growing tourism and real-estate sectors and “has many future investment possibilities”.

Source: PropertyShowrooms.com

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Commercial property sales upturn in Spain and Tenerife

April 7, 2011 – 11:01 am

Commercial property sales improve in Tenerife and Spain

Opportunistic investors chasing cut-price prime commercial property in recession-hit Spain have helped push the sector’s total returns into positive territory for the first time in two years, a survey has found.

Investment Property Databank research showed commercial real estate total returns for 2010 hit 4.9 percent, from 2009′s negative return of 9.3 percent. It comprised a 1.2 percent fall in capital values and a 6.2 percent gain in income returns, IPD said late on Monday.

Retail property was the strongest performer, producing total returns of 7.7 percent in 2010, from minus 7.2 percent in 2009, with gains in both capital values and income returns. It was followed by offices at 1.9 percent and industrial at minus 0.6 percent.

In February, Reuters reported retail property investors were scouting around for distressed assets, betting that rising Spanish GDP would boost total returns by 2013.  

Source: Reuters/

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Spain’s high quality property in demand

March 18, 2011 – 3:09 pm

Quality property in Spain, Tenerife and the Islands is always in demand

The UK has London, France has Paris and now, it seems, Spain has its own elite property market that’s surging ahead of the rest of the country. Whilst recovery in the national property market after the 2008 collapse remains slow, the Balearic Islands of Ibiza, Majorca, Minorca and Formentera are a different story, with sales increasing by 14% in 2010 and expected to keep growing as tourism booms this year. 

A total of 10,860 homes were sold in the islands last year according to government statistics which, when compared to the 491,000 properties sold nationally, made up quite a large percentage of total sales figures in Spain. And that percentage is growing at speed – whilst home sales in the Spanish market as a whole only grew 5.9% from 2009′s numbers, sales in the Balearics were up 14.5% compared with figures for the previous year.

“Over the last 12 months we have seen buyer interest in the Balearic Islands, especially Majorca, rise steadily”, said Ignacio Osle, sales director of the nation’s largest homebuilder, Taylor Wimpey Espana. An enduringly popular tourist destination amongst Brits in particular, the Spanish Tourist Board estimates holiday visits from UK customers to the Balearics has grown 13% so far this year.

This trend is expected to continue into the peak summer season, as a result of both holidaymakers changing their destinations from Tunisia and Egypt to Spain and the Canary Isles, and last-minute holiday bookings for the Royal Wedding holiday period. UK-based tour operator Thomas Cook reported a 30 per cent surge in enquiries for Balearics packages over the April break, whilst charter airline Monarch has extended its services from the UK to Majorca to cope with growing demand.

Osle recommended Majorca particularly as a hotspot for property investment. With plans currently in the works to construct a Formula 1 track near the island’s transport hub of Palma, long-term tourism prospects look good, and continuing foreign interest has ensured prices retain their value compared to the rest of the Spanish market.  “The local property market remains buoyant, with foreign buyers keen to get a slice of island life by purchasing high quality, well located properties”, said Osle.

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Spain’s property prices fall again

January 12, 2011 – 2:07 pm

Spain's property prices falling

There are between 700,000 and 1.1 million unsold homes in Spain, a figure that could drag the property prices in the country down further this year, according to the Central Bank in Spain.

A spokesperson from the financial body said property values are likely to continue their downward trend due to tax changes in the country. The banking regulator said: “We will see a process of gradual absorption of accumulated excess supply, which will be slow and mean that housing investment will not contribute to the growth of activity in the near future.”

House values fell by about 13% from the peak seen in the first quarter of 2008, according to government statistics. There was also a decline in new-home construction. Only 137,000 homes were built in the year to September, down from the 2007 peak of 750,000 units.

Perhaps with the fall in the value of the Euro, more overseas purchasers will be tempted back to buy in areas such as Tenerife and The Canary Islands, which have been popular in the past.

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