Crucial year for Spanish real estate

February 9, 2012 – 4:37 pm

Crucial year for property in Tenerife and Spain

Property prices in the prime locations of Barcelona remained resilient throughout 2011 but it remains possible to purchase properties at discounts of up to 30% on 2007 prices, according to market analysis for Q3 and Q4 2011 by estate agents Lucas Fox. Having analysed the property markets in Barcelona, Mallorca, Ibiza and Costa Brava property markets, the company predicts that foreign property investment will rise in 2012. Alex Vaughan, Director at Lucas Fox International, says that his firm is still receiving strong interest from buyers looking to buy homes in some parts of the country, many of whom are keen to take advantage of the discounted prices that are possible. But the picture is less positive in other regions of Spain, with agents in some parts of the country such as Murcia and Alicante reporting on large amounts of property stock on the market and a very low volume of transactions. “In these worse affected areas 2012 looks set to be another crucial year for sellers and agents alike,” said Vaughan. “There are, however some positive signs in the market as a whole. Last year the Spanish government lowered the purchase tax payable on new build property which stimulated transactions in the last quarter and the new PP Government have announced that this measure will be continued through 2012.” 

The signs for 2012 are positive with a much larger amount of enquiries from international buyers  than we normally experience at this time of year.” Many prospective buyers who have been observing the Spanish property market for the last few years have now decided that it is the right time to show their hand and start negotiating on their ideal property, according to Stijn Teeuwen, director of Lucas Fox International Properties. He said: “For those clients that get it right there are possibilities to buy prime properties in the best locations at major discounts on the prices that there were being sold at prior to 2007 / 2008.” Tom Maidment, director at Lucas Fox Costa Brava, added: “There are still plenty of opportunities to purchase well-located, quality properties at interesting prices

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Buying opportunities in Tenerife and Spain

December 13, 2011 – 12:10 pm

Property bargains abound in Tenerife and Spain

The recent credit crisis has opened up some superb buying opportunities for buyers seeking a second home in Spain. While prices have fallen typically 25% from their peak.

For example, the Polaris World resorts were made famous by endless TV adverts featuring Jack Nicklaus before the recession hit, now these superb, complete golf resorts have a small proportion of unsold properties which the banks are keen to sell.

Buyers are advised to move quickly as much of the stock made available by the banks has sold in the last twelve months. Prime position property is becoming more difficult to find for buyers and the future of such cut price deals and mortgages remains uncertain with the government bailout of CAM about to result in a sale to a stronger banking group in Spain.

Villa Cashback MD Paul Williams remains cautious about continuing half price deals. “At this stage we don’t know what form a future CAM bank will take and what the pricing strategy of the new banking group will be. What we do know is that a weak CAM bank has so far undercut the stronger banks in pricing their property. Now it’s about to be bought by a stronger institution there’s no guarantee of the property giveaway continuing.”

Brand new apartments are available on resorts such as Hacienda Riquelme where front line golf apartments are available at less than half their original prices. Mortgages of up to 90% are available for overseas buyers. The resort has proved extremely popular with UK and northern European buyers this year.

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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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Retail investment up

November 8, 2011 – 10:46 am

European retail investment up

European retail real estate investment is up 38% quarter on quarter to €6.7 billion with demand for prime retail to remain relatively strong during the last quarter of the year, according to a new report.

The third quarter report from Jones Lang LaSalle says that 2011 year end volumes are likely to exceed €28 billion, up by 35% on last year and significantly above the €12.3 billion recorded in 2009.

It reports that retail real estate investment remained strong throughout the summer, despite the volatile European recovery and economic headwinds that continued to face the sector. Direct investment in retail real estate in Europe during the third quarter of 2011 reached €6.7 billion, up from €4.9 billion in the second quarter of 2011 and significantly up on the €3.8 billion transacted in the third quarter of 2010.

Total investment volumes for the year to date now stand at €20.4 billion, up by 45% over the same period last year, almost on a par with total 2010 volumes and far exceeding full year volumes of €12.3 billion in 2009.

Source: Property Wire

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Luxury property and prime real estate is bouncing back world wide

September 22, 2011 – 9:22 am

Luxury property in Tenerife and Spain on the rise again

International luxury real estate activity is bouncing back, according to a new report from property network Christie’s International Real Estate.

Over two-thirds of respondents to Christie’s State of the Market survey reported an increase in buyer activity for the first eight months of 2011.

And although 62.5% said that sellers are still unrealistic about pricing, the figure has fallen considerable since last year.

However chief executive Neil Palmer warned that lending challenges and a lack of quality housing in some areas is hamstringing further growth. Tenerife’s prime property is a prime example of the  way the sector is bouncing back.

Source: OPP.org.uk

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British buyers head property sales in Spain

September 13, 2011 – 12:04 pm

Brits ahead in race for prime property in Tenerife and Spain

Bargain hunting Brits have shot to the top of the property buyers’ league in Spain after years trailing behind Scandinavians and Russians in the race to secure “the best deals for a decade”. 

There are more British buyers than Spanish nationals on some prime developments in favourite areas like Costa del Sol, Costa Blanca, Tenerife and Mallorca, as they cash in on the “buyers market” scenario of lowest prices, lowest interest rates, lowest taxes and highest loan to value deals – up to 107% of the asking price. 

Source: Property in Spain

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Spanish house prices fall again,though prime areas fair better

September 12, 2011 – 9:07 am

Property prices in Tenerife,Balearics and Costa Brava fair better than the rest of Spain

Average Spanish house prices fell 4.1pc over 12 months to the end of Q1, according to the latest house price index published by Spain’s National Institute of Statistics (INE).

That represents a turn for the worse after prices clawed their way back towards stability in the second half of last year.

New build prices fell 1.9pc, whilst resales were down 6.3pc, the worst result since Q3 2009.

This ties in with other data such as falling transactions to paint a picture of a housing market still far from out of the woods.

Not all market segments are suffering equally. Prime segments in upmarket destinations like the Costa Brava,Tenerife, and the Balearics are doing better.

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Spain’s luxury housing market remains bouyant

September 1, 2011 – 4:44 pm

Tenerife prime property holding price well once more

Spain’s luxury residential market is showing some resilience as Eastern European and non-mortgage buyers surge into the market, according to new research.

New reports from Lucas Fox International Properties show that the average prices in the areas remain way above the national average.

And as finance becomes less scarce the luxury market has shown more strength than others.

Russian buyers are particularly active in Barcelona according to marketing director Anthony Leaton.

Source: OPP.org.uk

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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.

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Sellers asking less for their homes at the cheaper end of the market

July 18, 2011 – 9:02 am

The number of vendors asking less for their homes leapt to 30,646 in May, 7% of all vendors and an increase of 73pc on last year. They reduced asking prices by an average of 8.2pc in a year.

So far this year 134,107 vendors have dropped their asking prices, 69pc more than last year and 31pc of the total.

In total, vendors are now asking 700 million Euros less in a month, 3.2 billion less this year, and 6.4 billion less in the last 12 months. That is potentially a huge transfer of wealth from vendors to buyers.

The biggest number of vendors asking less was at the cheaper end of the market, with 8.3pc of vendors with asking prices below €200,000 dropping their prices, compared to 6.5pc of vendors asking more than €600,000.

In value terms, however, prices at the cheaper end fell by an average of 8.6pc compared to 9.3pc for more expensive homes. This is the time to visit a reputable estate agent and look for that bargain in Tenerife, whether it is a cheaper property or a prime property.

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