The price of free-market housing in Spain has dropped on average by 15.4% (more than 20% in real terms and as much as 24% in some provinces).
Certainly in Tenerife and the Canary Islands the housing market is showing signs of improvement once more and their are good quality prime property bargains to be had at present.
Spanish and Canarian property on the rise once more.
An examination of the figures shows that 79% of the increase in transactions came from just two regions. Catalonia saw a 43% increase and Madrid was up 36% while the market continued to shrink or stagnate in many coastal areas popular with foreign buyers. Malaga and Alicante saw year on year increases of 3% and 3.8% respectively and Andalucia saw a 7% rise. Granada and Cadiz were both up 14% and Valencia saw 23% growth.
Local figures suggest that Marbella is leading the way to recovery with figures from the town’s tax office revealing that 2,499 properties were sold in the first three months of this year, a rise of more than 200% compared to the same period in 2009 when just 820 properties were sold and the highest for four years.
Meanwhile, the latest property price index from Tinsa shows that prices fell by 5.3% over the 12 months to the end of March, a slight improvement on the previous month. The figures from Tinsa, one of Spain’s leading appraisal companies, are however based on their own valuations not actual transaction prices.
Since the peaks of December 2007, prices are down 16.2% nationally, 22.5% on the Mediterranean coast, and 13.6% in the Canaries and the Balearics. But there are no signs of foreign property buyers returning to the Spanish market. The latest figures from the Bank of S;pain show that the amount of money invested by foreigners in Spanish property has fellen to its lowest level for a decade.
Foreigners invested €3.7 billion in Spanish property last year, the lowest level since 1999, when it was €2.9 billion. Foreign investment in Spanish real estate was down 32% last year compared to 2008, and by 48% compared to 2003, when foreign investment in Spanish property peaked. But the weak economy, high unemployment and enormous inventory of new houses will slowdown any recovery in the Spanish market, according to a report from PricewaterhouseCoopers and the Urban Land Institute into European property market trends.
Spanish property exhibitions to visit England
Taylor Woodrow will mark its 50th anniversary by touring England with a series of Spanish property exhibitions throughout September.
The exhibitions will offer people looking to buy property in Spain information on Spanish homes and locations, plus Spanish properties that have been reduced in price by up to 41 per cent, to reflect the recent slump in the Spain property market.
Victor Sague, Marketing Director of Taylor Woodrow de Espana, said, ” From talking with our estate agency partners in the UK, we expect there to be significant interest in these offers from both investors and second home hunters.”
Experts will be on hand to advice house hunters at each of the exhibitions, which will be held around England from Sunday 13-23 September.
There are many homes available in seaside and golfing locations throughout Mallorca, Costa Blanca, Gibraltar and Marbella, Tenerife and the Canary Islands. A high number of homes will be sold throughout the couple of weeks of exhibitions as it will provide house hunters one last chance to buy a quality home at a fantastic price. It really is now or never for people to take advantage of these top quality homes as these discounts will not be around for long.
