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)

Property prices to fall further?

November 28, 2011 – 9:37 am

 The distressed nature of the Spanish property market combined with the country’s fragile economy suggests that property prices will fall further, despite the fact that they have tumbled nationwide since the peak of the market in 2007. The Eurozone debt crisis that has already seen three countries, Greece, Ireland and Portugal bailed out is now threatening much bigger economies like Italy and Spain. Furthermore, with unemployment and foreclosure levels in Spain both growing, it is hard to see how further price falls are not inevitable, presenting purchasers with an opportunity to bag an even cheaper priced home in Spain. Fresh research by an association of homeowners facing foreclosure (AFES), reveals that almost 20% of Spanish mortgages signed between the boom years of 2004 and 2008 are or will become delinquent. AFES calculate that over 700,000 families will have had their homes repossessed by 2015, which is a tragedy. But while extremely unfortunate, it does present those in a position to buy property, with an opportunity to secure a home at an even cheaper price, crushing any slim hopes that that market will soon embark on the road to recover. Mark Stucklin of Spanish Property Insight wrote: “Specifically, there were four million home purchases between 2004 and 2008 , the bubble years of the Spanish property boom  of which 170,000 have already been foreclosed, another 170,000 are in process, and another 375,000 are expected to be repossessed by 2015.” “All this at a time when there are more than three million empty homes in Spain,” he added. AFES propose partial or total debt forgiveness by banks, more mortgage lending, and lower property prices to making housing affordable. “The big social drama is that after losing their homes people are saddled with debts they can never afford to pay,” said Carlos Baños, President of AFES. or total debt forgiveness by banks, more mortgage lending, and lower property prices to making housing affordable. “The big social drama is that after losing their homes people are saddled with debts they can never afford to pay,” said Carlos Baños, President of AFES.

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

Victory in Spanish election to herald a change in Spain’s property market?

November 23, 2011 – 9:43 am

People's Party victory in Spain may help property sales in Tenerife

The landslide victory for the People’s Party in Spain’s General Election is hoped to herald an avalanche of change for the country’s property market. The Centre-Right party’s triumph follows elections in Greece, Ireland, Italy and Portugal as Spain becomes the fifth Eurozone country to switch government this year. The real estate industry is now urging the government to act, as thousands of discounted homes across the country remain unsold. Tax cuts and tourism initiatives are two of the measures anticipated by property professionals, as Spain’s appeal to lifestyle buyers remains strong, partially helped by the existing VAT reduction for new homes. “Spain still has arguably the best weather in Europe, is easy to get to and property is relatively cheap,” Spanish agency Mercers commented,  while house builders such as Taylor Wimpey have seen success by slashing VAT altogether. Marc Pritchard, Taylor Wimpey’s Sales Manager, comments: “We initiated the NO VAT policy as a way of assisting potential buyers further especially seeing as buyers have executed caution when committing to Spanish property. Indeed, we have seen considerable interest in our VAT free properties since its introduction and with only weeks to go before this rare time-limited opportunity for investors to purchase their dream home in Spain VAT free ends, we are urging property hunters to invest now before it too late.” As with the UK, unemployment is a central component to Spain’s recession, particularly for under-30s, and tax changes by the PP could create jobs as well as stimulate investor interest. In Motril, for example, an ambitious land development was scrapped when the market crashed. But plans have since been changed to a reworked “sporting and marina complex” that could create 1,000 jobs, as Spanish developers look for new ways to encourage investment. The council’s chief architect Juan Fernando Perez Estevez explains to Reuters: “It is something that will attract high-end customers who will need services. And it will be the catalyst for further activity. We’ve got the infrastructure, the motorway, so this is an important development that will attract investment.” Construction has always been a key source of jobs in Spain. At the peak of the housing boom, construction,when the People’s Party (dubbed the “Pro Property Party”) were last in power, 2.8 million people were employed in the building sector, but this has now dropped to 1.4 million – just 7.8 per cent of the working population. With unemployment high, Spaniards cannot afford new homes and banks continue to repossess property. With many seized assets turning sour, banks are losing out on billions of Euros, yet the Bank of Spain accused them in recent months of “holding back” the best properties until house prices have returned to higher levels. Around 600,000 “bottom of the market bargains” are currently available on the market, according to Property in Spain. And so Spain relies on overseas buyers to boost demand. Hopes reside in the new Spanish government, recognised as taking the problem more seriously, to continue selling off land assets in prime locations and encourage foreign investment. If the Eurozone remains stable, Reuters adds, “Spain can rebuild”. Some, including Property in Spain, are looking for immediate solutions: “The new Government has one month to the start of the New Year buying season to come up with enough incentives and safeguards to get more buyers tempted by the genuine bargains and mortgage deals on offer.” As the industry awaits new incentives to clear the large stock of discounted homes, prime Costa property at cheap prices is expected to eventually bring back international buyers to the country’s sunny coasts. According to a forecast from Bankinter last week, Spain’s supply will last for several years, but houses are predicted to become even cheaper for buyers, with prices falling another 6 per cent by 2013. It is a long road to recovery but in time, the PP’s acronym may stand for “Pro Property” once again. “There won’t be any miracles. We never promised any,” said the Prime Minister-elect Mariano Rajoy, who will be sworn into office in December. “But as we have said before, when things are done properly, the results come in.”

By Angela | Posted in Economy, General, Health, Holiday, Inspirational, Miscellaneous Articles, Property, Tenerife, Things to Do, Weather | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (1)

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)

Spain to avoid EU bailout

April 12, 2011 – 11:05 am

Spain to avoid EU bailout as property sector begins to recover.

After much speculation on the fate of its debt-ridden economy, it looks as though Spain will avoid seeking a large-scale financial bailout from the EU – an expression of confidence in its recovery that bodes well for property investors. 

Despite speculation since last autumn that its debts were unsustainable and there was no other option for the floundering nation but to seek EU rescue, Spain has stood strong whilst both Ireland and Portugal fell victim to debt crises, and now looks to be out of the woods. French finance minister Christine LaGarde, one of the key European authorities at the centre of EU crisis negotations, told the Wall Street Journal that “Spain isn’t a problem”, while German Finance Minister said that as far as the debt crisis in Spain was concerned, “the risk of contagion has lessened.”

Unlike Portugal and Ireland, which saw severe public opposition to national spending cuts and faced difficulty getting them through parliament, Spain has successfully implemented a drastic debt reduction program and has already cut its budget deficit to 9% from 11% in 2009, although unemployment remains high. As a result, borrowing costs for the country remain at a stable level, and investors appear to be renewing their confidence in Spain and returning to the market.

“Investors increasingly have come to differentiate between Ireland,Portugal and Spain”, economist Antonio Garcia Pascual, of Barclays Capital, told the Wall Street Journal. Credit ratings agency Fitch also reported last month that it considers an Ireland-style complete collapse of the banking and property sector to be “an extreme scenario which is not likely to materialize.”

With property sales having reported a positive growth of 5.9% last year for the first time since the market downturn, and new developments having all but ceased, allowing home supply to be soaked up in relation to demand, it looks as though the Spanish economy and real estate industry is beginning its slow road to recovery. Providing it can remain in investors’ good books in the coming months, the future is looking increasingly bright. Certainly if Tenerife’s recovering property market is to be used as an indicator, light has appeared from the end of the tunnel.

By Angela | Posted in Economy, General, Health, Holiday, Inspirational, Miscellaneous Articles, Property, Tenerife, Things to Do, Weather | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (1)

Time running out for second homes tax breaks

March 24, 2011 – 9:44 am

Time is running out for tax breaks on second homes

Time is running out for holiday  owners to upgrade their property while simultaneously cutting their tax bills. A £30m tax break, which cuts the cost of second homes for more than 65,000 families, is to be withdrawn next month because of EU laws. Attractive tax incentives were introduced in the eighties to encourage people to invest in quality holiday properties in Britain, after the lure of cheap Spanish packages left our many seaside resorts struggling, and in decline. They provided budding UK landlords with a meaningful subsidy towards the purchase and running costs of a second home, as well as more tax concessions when it came to selling. About 65,000 families currently own and run a holiday house in Britain under this tax regime, known as the furnished holiday letting rules, and save an estimated £30m a year in tax. But advantageous treatment of UK holiday property fell foul of EU laws, because they were deemed to discriminate against tourist accommodation in Spain, Portugal, France, Italy and elsewhere in Europe. Either the tax breaks had to be extended to all holiday properties throughout the European Economic Area (which includes Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway as well as other EU countries); or they had to be withdrawn. The Government calculated that it would add up to £25m to the existing £30m cost of running this scheme if these overseas properties were included. By contrast, cutting this relief would bring an extra £20m into Treasury coffers. From April, losses can only be offset against future rental income and not used to reduce your overall tax bill. Source: Telegraph Online

By Angela | Posted in Economy, General, Holiday, Miscellaneous Articles, Property, Tenerife, Things to Do | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (1)

Spain winning battle to restore economic growth

March 2, 2011 – 12:56 pm

Zapatero is winning Spain's economic battle.

Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero is beating his Portuguese counterpart Jose Socrates as they battle to convince investors they can stem the debt crisis and restore economic growth.

The extra yield investors demand to own Portuguese 10-year bonds rather than Spanish securities has climbed this year, approaching levels reached just prior to Ireland’s November bailout. It cost a record 215 basis points more this week to insure against Portugal defaulting than its Iberian neighbour. Zapatero adopted austerity earlier than Socrates. In a U- turn, he embraced public-wage cuts six months before Socrates did, raised the retirement age, made it cheaper to fire workers and forced lenders to hold more capital. Portugal, whose central government deficit widened for the first 10 months of last year, denies it needs aid as borrowing costs near a euro-era record.

“It seems that the adjustments the Spanish government has made and the tighter rules they are applying to the banks are having a convincing effect on investors,” said Marius Daheim, a senior fixed-income strategist at Bayerische Landesbank in Munich. “Spain is getting the benefit of the doubt and is increasingly being perceived as a turnaround story, while Portugal is seen as a target for the rescue fund.”

The yield spread between Spanish 10-year bonds and their German counterparts has narrowed 26 basis points since Dec. 31 to 223 basis points today, while Portugal pays 73 basis points more relative to bunds than at the end of 2010. Bond trading signals that while Portugal is struggling to convince investors it won’t need to turn to the 440 billion-euro ($606 billion) European Financial Stability Facility rescue fund, Spain is seen at less risk of collapse.

Spanish bonds are “certainly getting better” as a potential investment, Andrew Bosomworth, a money manager at Pacific Investment Management Co., said in an interview on Bloomberg Television’s “On the Move” with Francine Lacqua on Feb. 21. “Real economic progress and healing is starting to take place,” he said. Pimco manages the world’s largest bond fund.

Zapatero announced additional measures today aimed at tackling the 20 percent unemployment rate, telling Parliament the government will step up vocational training in schools. The prime minister, who has pledged to change rules on wage- bargaining by the end of next month, also said the nation has to improve its competitiveness. 

Source: Kyero

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Spain and the Canary Isles still the Brits favourite place to buy a home

February 7, 2011 – 12:14 pm

Spain is still tops for Britons buying homes abroad

Spain is the perennial favourite for Britons looking to buy a home abroad, confirms the latest survey by Channel 4’s A Place in the Sun.

The ranking for 2011 goes as follows (2010 in brackets):

1. Spain (1)
2. France (3)                    
3. Portugal (4)
4. Italy (6)
5. Florida (2)
6. Turkey (5)
7. Greece (8)
8. Cyprus (7)
9. Malta (new entry)
10. Egypt (new entry)

Here is what they had to say about Spain, Tenerife and the Canary Islands:

Once again, Spain remains the most popular destination for Brits to buy abroad and therefore tops our chart of the best places to buy abroad in 2011. After all, it has all the right ingredients – excellent access from the UK, sun, sea, culture and infrastructure. With repossessed properties and distressed sales hitting the market, the home of the Costas, Balearic and Canary Islands still has some great deals for the diligent buyer. Huge discounts on holiday homes mean there’s a multitude of destinations and property options on offer.

As we have been saying for a while now, this really is a great time to buy in Tenerife. In fact it is a great time to buy throughout Spain and its islands.  Check out the latest deals with your estate agent, particularly the discounts available  on prime property in Tenerife.

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

Spain’s bond auction hoping to follow Portugal’s success

January 14, 2011 – 9:56 am

Spain’s first bond auction of 2011 may be buoyed by Portugal’s success selling debt yesterday and European efforts to bolster the region’s sovereign-bailout fund.

Spain plans to sell as much as 3 billion euros ($3.9 billion) of five-year bonds in Madrid. Securities of similar maturity yielded 4.765 percent on the secondary market, up from 3.576 percent at a Nov. 4 auction. Italy, the euro region’s second-most indebted nation, aims to issue as much as 6 billion euros of debt due in 2015 and 2026.

The yield on Spain’s benchmark 10-year bond reached the highest in more than a decade this week on concern Europe’s debt crisis was spreading and Portugal would follow Greece and Ireland in seeking European Union aid. Portugal’s 10-year borrowing costs fell at a sale of 1.25 billion euros of bonds yesterday, as European leaders moved to cobble together a package of new measures to stop the contagion.

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

Euro hits three month low

January 11, 2011 – 10:00 am

The fall of the Euro may affect property prices in Tenerife.

The euro has traded near a three-month low on speculation European nations will struggle to raise funds, diminishing the allure of their assets. Europe´s currency declined versus 13 of its 16 major counterparts before Portugal, Spain and Italy sell government debt this week. “It looks as though the market is pricing in some further deterioration in the sovereign debt story,” said Sean Callow, a senior currency strategist at Westpac Banking Corp. in Sydney. “Obviously the Portugal auction on Wednesday will be closely watched. I see euro weakness continuing.” The euro was at $1.2904 at 8:30a.m. in Tokyo from $1.2907 in New York on Jan. 7, after touching $1.2867, the lowest since Sept. 14. The single currency traded at 107.26 yen from 107.32 yen last week, when it reached 106.95 yen, the weakest since Sept. 14.

Great news for travellers from outside the Euro Zone, who will receive more Euros for their home currency!

By Angela | Posted in Economy, General, Holiday, Miscellaneous Articles, Property, Tenerife, Things to Do | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments (3)