Spain reclaims property crown

January 9, 2012 – 5:57 pm

Spain and Tenerife property in demand

Spain has reclaimed its property crown, according to the latest Top of the Props report from TheMoveChannel. Following America’s unexpected victory in November, US property fell in popularity last month, dropping three places in the overseas portal’s chart.

That dip was all Spain needed to soar back to top spot. Buyers seemed to flock to America to avoid Europe’s troubled markets, Spain, Portugal and France charged up the table, pushing America down to fourth. In total, the top three destinations accounted for just over a third of all enquiries on the site in December.

While US enquiries fell by 7.32 per cent, Spain’s popularity dropped by only 0.18 per cent. This steady level of attention, driven by low prices and the country’s reduction in VAT during 2011, reflects the continuing demand for Spanish property from lifestyle buyers.

This proves that holiday home demand can still buck the Eurozone’s downward trend if the prices are right.  Despite Spain’s return to form, investors are still willing to look elsewhere to avoid Europe’s more troubled economies.

Managing Director Dan Johnson comments: “As 2011 ends, the fluctuations in the Top 10 show the changing buyer demands in an uncertain market. Spain has always been a traditional choice for lifestyle buyers, as evidenced by the constant level of interest in the country. In fact, for the majority of last year, Spain was the most sought-after property destination on TheMoveChannel. so its return to the top spot seems an appropriate end to the year.

“Barbados and Morocco are equally attractive lifestyle choices that are free of Eurozone anxiety, but France and Portugal’s strong performance in December is a reassuring sign for more familiar property markets. As the New Year begins, we shall see if the popularity of these European countries will be strong enough to weather the economic climate in 2012.”

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

World’s housing market has a weak third quarter

December 15, 2011 – 11:05 am

Spain and Tenerife fail to buck the trend of weaker house prices

The world’s housing markets had a weak third quarter of 2011, according to the latest survey of worldwide house price indices prepared by the Global Property Guide.   During the year to end Q3 2011, house prices fell in 25 countries (out of the 44 for which quarterly house price statistics are available) and rose in only 19.

Moreover, 26 housing markets performed more poorly during the year to the third quarter than last year, while only 18 countries performed better. 

The Global Property Guide’s statistical presentation uses price-changes after inflation, giving a more realistic picture than the more upbeat nominal figures usually preferred by real estate agents.

The world’s second strongest quarter-on-quarter house price rise occurred in an unexpected city – Vienna, where house prices surged by 5.44% during the quarter (and +4.25% on the year), continuing 6 years of nearly unbroken price rises for Austria’s capital.

The Irish housing market remains the world’s weakest performer. House prices were down 15.61% year-on-year, the steepest decline since 2008.  Quarter-on-quarter, Ireland’s house prices slid 4.25%.

Several other European housing markets experienced accelerated downturns during the year ending in the third quarter of 2011, including Netherlands (-5.20%), Portugal (-6.77%), Slovak Republic (-7.94%), Warsaw, Poland (-7.95%), Spain (-8.41%) and Bulgaria (-9.65%).

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

Spain still a frim favourite for property

September 7, 2011 – 10:55 am

Property in Spain and Tenerife still a favourite with buyers

The three most popular international real estate markets are still the old favourites – Spain, France and the USA, according to the latest Top of the Props report .

In troubled times, many investors return to the things they know best and that certainly seems to be the case with overseas property buyers, with the top 3 countries sharing nearly a third of all property searches on TheMoveChannel.com.

Director Dan Johnson said: “The Spanish market is awash with great deals at the moment as Spanish banks continue to try and shift property cheaply. This phenomenon is unlikely to change soon, as there is plenty of supply, while the failure of some banks in the recent stress tests, means they’ll be keener than ever to divest the repossessed stock from their balance sheets. 

“France is an altogether different market, with a much higher concentration of lifestyle buyers purchasing holiday homes because they love the country and want to spend time there – it’s not such a price-sensitive market, though buyers are still pushing for good deals.”

Other notable movers and shakers this month are Portugal, which moved above Italy in terms of popularity for the first time and Thailand, which jumped up 12 places to number 9 and moved into the top 10 for the first time.

Of course, the Canary Islands especially Tenerife has some real bargains at present, why not check out the local estate agents and grab a property at prices paid  years ago.

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

Recovery in Spanish property market could begin in next 12 months

July 1, 2011 – 11:04 am

Tenerife and Spanish property market set to improve soon.

People keen to earn extra money by investing in property have been told that a recovery in the Spanish market could begin in the next 12 months.

Buy Association editor Paul Collins explained that investors should be cautious about purchasing assets just yet, as further falls are expected.

He said: “There is still significant inertia in the property market in Spain, with developers, agents and private sellers alike struggling to move properties.”

However, Mr Collins cited research by JP Morgan Chase & Co estimating that the industry is set to “bottom out” over the next 12 months and begin to recover.

Certainly the market in Tenerife reflects an upwards trend, particularly in the prime property  and coastal sectors. 

Source: KnowledgetoAction.co.uk

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

Housing glut to shrink to manageable level by 2013 says Spain’s Ministry of Finance

May 5, 2011 – 10:13 am

Housing glut lasts in mainland Spain but improves in Tenerife and the islands

In a drive to reassure international money markets that Spain can deal with its real estate problems, the Ministry of Finance has claimed that Spain’s infamous housing-glut will shrink to a manageable level of 200,000 homes by 2013.

For that to happen Spain will have to sell 900,000 new homes between now and then (300,000 per year), whilst building around 175,000 new homes on average per year. In the chart above, the dotted line forecasts the new housing inventory in 2013.

Some experts have raised doubts that the market will be able to digest 300,000 new homes per year, bearing in mind that resale transactions must also be taken into account.

According to the latest figures from the Government (Fomento) and the property register, analysed in an article by El Confidencial, the net change in the number of new homes on the market over the latest 12 months was a decline of just 30,000, way below Government estimates for the next few years. If that rate continues it will take several years longer to digest the glut. The Government also produced an analysis of the relationship between price falls and the stock of new homes on the market in different areas.

 Madrid and coastal provinces of mainland Spain, where most holiday-homes are located, tend to have the largest gluts and price falls. However the islands such as Tenerife and Majorca have seen an upturn in prices this year

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

Rough week for euro market after interest rate and bond concerns

January 18, 2011 – 11:55 am

A rough week for Euro market rates

A  degree of uncertainty over the results of the highly anticipated Portuguese bond auction saw the Euro trade cautiously in the early part of this week, Portugal has remained under the spotlight  recently as fear of contagion gripped markets over possible escalation in Europe’s ongoing sovereign debt problems.

The euro saw some marginal appreciation across most majors after speculation hit the market that the Swiss government may take action to temper the strength of the Swiss Franc versus the Euro and maintained the higher end of ranges with further speculation that the European Central Bank would be aggressively participating in the coming sovereign auctions. Portugal’s bond auction produced a successful result with the full €1.25bln being sold and the 10-yr yield average coming in lower than had been anticipated and thus meant a sustainable cost level for Portugal. Bond auctions from Spain and Italy followed that of Portugal just ahead of the European Central Bank rate decision. Both countries had successful auctions and like their Portuguese counterparts Spain’s bond yields also average lower and pushed the single currency higher.

The ECB kept interest rates unchanged at 1.0%, as expected, but surprised markets by changing the tone of its monetary policy stance to being a lot more hawkish. In his press conference ECB President Trichet warned of inflationary risk within the euro zone and stated the central bank was prepared to raise interest rates to ensure price stability. The governing Council saw evidence of short-term upward pressure to overall inflation and while medium-term pressure remained anchored risk to the upside had increased.

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

Diverse outcomes occur in world’s housing markets.

November 23, 2010 – 10:01 am

Spain and Tenerife are not suffering as much as some countries in the property sector

The results of recent real estate booms in the US, UK, Spain and Australia have been extremely varied. Housing markets, which not long ago marched in lockstep, are now producing diverse outcomes.

US home prices took a real hammering. The formerly hot housing markets of the UK and Spain, on the other hand, declined somewhat but never fully deflated, while Australian real estate prices have rebounded with remarkable vigour.

But why are the outcomes so varied? One explanation is national differences in housing supply. Markets where land was readily available for development, most notably the US, were flooded with new construction during the boom period. Annual housing completions in the US climbed roughly 50 per cent in the five years to the market peak in 2006.

The resulting oversupply of unsold properties has lasted to the current day. But in other parts of the world, including Britain and Australia, new housing supply didn’t keep up with rising home prices so there was no overhang of properties to sell off when the credit crunch struck.

Source: Financial Times

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

European real estate transactions on the rise

April 6, 2010 – 3:52 pm
Commercial real estate on the rise throughout Europe

Commercial real estate on the rise throughout Europe

European real estate transaction volumes could rise as much as 30 percent to around 90 billion euros ($124 billion) this year as credit markets thaw and prices stabilise, according to a report by broker Jones Lang LaSalle.

Appetite for commercial property is returning, with 24.6 billion euros of deals done in the last quarter of 2009, more than double the 11.6 billion euros in the first three months of the year, the report said. “The growth we are expecting to see this year will be fuelled by an improvement in the availability of debt, the recognition that pricing has probably hit or even passed its floor, slightly more appetite for risk-taking, and more assets coming to the market,” Jones Lang director Chris Staveley said.

The data, published on the eve of MIPIM, Europe’s largest property trade fair, highlighted a revival in confidence among key real estate players after a two-year decline.

However, even if the total volume of deals hits 90 billion euros, Staveley said Europe’s commercial real estate investment market would still be modest in size in historical terms, roughly in line with 2002 levels.

“A weak economic outlook sets the backdrop for difficult occupier markets almost everywhere, and despite some markets seeing some recovery in prime rents, caution and risk aversion will remain key themes in the market in 2010 for investors and occupiers alike,” he said.

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

Buy property in Tenerife and Spain now.

February 7, 2010 – 1:18 pm
Time to get your bargain property in Tenerife and Spain now

Time to get your bargain property in Tenerife and Spain now

Property markets are cyclical, and the time to buy prime property  could well be now. When the “bust” is here, everyone else is trying to sell. This could be  the threshold of the buying opportunity of the decade.

We have been expecting things to go pear-shaped  in the Spanish property market  before the boom started to show the first signs of running its course  because property markets are cyclical, and always have been (though the long-term trend has always been up, in Spain at least).  However for the first time in 6 years,  we could be  on the threshold of the buying opportunity of a decade, as we start the next cycle. Prices, in many cases, are back to levels last seen before 2004.  This is the time to buy, during the bust, when everyone else is trying to sell, not during the boom, when everyone else is buying.

Caution is the way  to proceed . There is still a lot of over-priced property on the market, there is a large glut of property that may not have a market today at any price, unattractive, poor quality flats in undesirable locations. However,you can now find attractive homes in superb locations for very reasonable prices. The worst of the crisis appears to be over, and most European economies are growing again. Many affluent Europeans are bound to be interested in a prime property on Tenerife’s  coast, which means those properties are never going to be given away, and prices might not go down much further.

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

Value of Britons’ overseas homes booming

January 23, 2010 – 2:15 pm
Value of property in Spain, Tenerife and the Canary Islands increasing due to currency fluctuations

Value of property in Spain, Tenerife and the Canary Islands increasing due to currency fluctuations

Analysis  reveals that despite property prices falling in France, Spain, Portugal and the USA, and only a small rise in Italy, the collective Sterling value of property there owned by British citizens increased by over £2.6 billion between July 2008 and December 2009. This is because the value of the Euro and the US Dollar against Sterling increased by 13.22% and 16% respectively.

In Spain, where Close Treasury estimates 144,500 properties are owned by British citizens, property prices fell by around 8.35% between 2008 and 2009, but again because of the rise in value of the Euro against Sterling, they would have made a collective gain of £1.1 billion, or £7,668 per property.

There has been a lot of volatility in the currency markets recently and many expect this to continue.  This is having a huge impact on the value of property owned by British people abroad and in many cases it is more influential than price changes in the local property markets. With the currency markets being so volatile,some clients are taking out forward contracts as opposed to paying spot prices.

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