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.”

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

Potential purchasers looking for property discounts in Spain

January 6, 2012 – 9:45 am

Potential investors still want discount on property for sale in Spain and Tenerife

A  survey compiled by Spanish  portal Idealista reveals that potential homebuyers are looking for a property asking price discount of 21%, on average, despite the fact that prices have plunged  in recent years.

Data provided by Idealista shows that Spanish home prices dropped for the fifth consecutive year in 2011, with the average asking price now 20% below the high reached at peak of the market in 2007.

In spite of the fall in the property values, many would be purchasers feel as though values have not fallen enough to reflect the chronic oversupply of properties on the market, along with the country’s dire economic situation.

Spanish property commentator Mark Stucklin said: “As far as all other housing market indicators go, 2011 was another bad year, if not the worst since the crisis began. Property sales, house building, mortgage lending and confidence all tumbled to new lows, whilst repossessions hit new highs.”

Stuckin, like most Spanish property experts, expects home prices in Spain to continue falling in 2012.

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

Lowest level of quarterly sales since crisis began but Canary Islands buck the trend

December 19, 2011 – 10:58 am

Canary Islands buck the trend of falling Property sales in Spain

The lowest level of quarterly sales occurred since the crisis began, according to figures from the property register.

There were 84,852 homes sold in Spain between July and September, 31.9pc less than the same period last year and 9.3pc less than the previous quarter. It was the lowest quarterly level of sales since the data series began.

 Q4 may well be another record low, but after that  the market is expected to  bottom out in the course of 2012. Which is not to say there will be a strong recovery after that , but at least the market will have stopped shrinking.

However, if the credit crunch gets worse, then we could still find major problems as  mortgage financing is the key to any market recovery. However parts of the  Canary Islands have bucked the trend and may well continue to do so as  tourism increases in 2012

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

Spanish property market over the worst?

December 8, 2011 – 5:20 pm

Property slump over the worst in Spain and Tenerife?

A growing number of experts believe that the Spanish property market is showing tentative signs of recovery following one of the most spectacular housing crashes of all time.

Spanish property sales and prices have plummeted across the country in the past five years, on the back of the global credit crisis, a string of corruption scandals, a chronic oversupply of housing, a string of illegally constructed homes, a weak economy, high unemployment and a record level of foreclosures.

It is estimated that property prices have fallen by up to 70% in some parts of the country since the market peak of late 2006 leaving many people in negative equity and others facing repossession.

Although property prices are unlikely to bounce back anytime soon, some property commentators and professionals feel as though the market is reaching the bottom of the downturn.

Mark Stucklin of Spanish Property  commented: “I am of the opinion that this is about as low as the Spanish property market will go in volume terms. Q4 may well be another record low, but after that I expect the market to bottom out in the course of 2012. This is not to say there will be a strong recovery after that , far from it. But at least the market will have stopped shrinking.”

The latest report Global House Price report from Knight Frank suggests that market in Spain, along with some other struggling European nations, could be  over the worst

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

INE say sales down in September

November 21, 2011 – 10:25 am

House sales down say INE

There were just 22,065 home sales in September (excluding social housing), 30.5pc down on the same month last year and 62pc down on September 2007, according to the latest figures from the National Institute of Statistics (INE).

Monthly sales this year since March have been the lowest since the crisis began. The positive start looks like a dead-cat-bounce. On a year-to-date basis sales in 2011 are 20pc below last year, and 56pc below 2007. The big question is can it get any worse in 2012?

Sales have been bad this year, falling by as much as 40pc in August, with an average annualised fall of 29pc each month since March. the market is shrinking fast, a clear sign that prices are still too high.

All this at a time when Spain is saddled with a monumental glut of homes for sale, not to mention unemployment of 22pc and rising. More than 40pc of young Spanish adults are out of work. Demographics are also starting to blow against the Spanish economy.

Unless the newly elected  Government takes radical steps to liberalise the economy, boost employment, and force banks to stop keeping property prices artificially high, it’s hard to see a way out of this mire.

What about holiday homes? The situation is a bit different because demand is internationally diversified, at least in some areas such as Tenerife. Some quality segments of the holiday home market will recover before the overall housing market. That said, this year and next year will be very tough.

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

Housing market shrinks again

August 21, 2011 – 5:28 pm

Housing market shrinks again

Home sales in June were the lowest since the property crash began, show the latest figures from the Statistics Institute (INE).
There were 24,699 home sales in June (excluding social housing), down 26pc on the same time last year,  even June 2009, when the crash was thought to be at its nadir.  It is clear that, after a deceptively promising start, 2011  is turning out to be the worst year yet.
Compared to June 2007, sales were down 60pc – a teeth-jarring fall by any measure.
Year-to-date, transactions are down 11pc compared to last year, 3pc compared to 2009, and 55pc compared to 2007.
Assuming that prices have fallen by an average of 30pc since 2007, then in value terms (Euros) the market has shrunk by 70pc since then. That means 70pc less money around for everyone who lived off the housing market, town halls in particular.
All this helps explain why many town halls are now in the jaws of a financial crisis: They ramped up their spending and overheads during the boom, assuming it would last for ever, but now the money has dried up and they can’t afford to pay their bills. A 70pc fall in revenues from real estate helps explain why.
Why are transactions still falling? Partly because the credit crunch is still in full swing – in Spain at least – and partly because the abolition of mortgage tax relief at the end of last year brought forward sales that might otherwise have taken place in the first half of this year. So the figures might make the market look worse than it actually is. To find out we will have to wait and see if there is a recovery in the second half of the year, let’s hope it improves in Tenerife too.
By Angela | Posted in Economy, General, Holiday, Inspirational, Miscellaneous Articles, Property, Tenerife, Things to Do | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (0)

British still buying in Spain and the islands

June 10, 2011 – 8:47 am
  • Tenerife and Spain are  still  favourites  with British buyers.

    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).

  • In municipalities with more than 25,000 inhabitants there has been an average 25% decrease, while in certain coastal towns the drop has been even greater. Such is the case in Marbella (40%), Torrevieja (31%) and Ibiza (29%), for example.
  • In 2010, property purchases by foreign residents in Spain increased by 20.8% over 2009.
  • In 2010, the British accounted for 23.4% of all property purchased by foreign residents in Spain.
  • In 2010, 491,000 property sales were recorded, 6% more than in the previous year and the first increase after three years of downturns; 60% of sales were in the Mediterranean coastal regions and in Madrid.
  • The number of empty housing units stands at less than 700,000 units in 2010; 61% of these are concentrated in the Spanish coastal regions.
  • The volume of finished housing has fallen by 60% in 2010 compared to the peak year of 2007, while newly constructed approved housing has fallen by 90% in 2010 from its 2006 high.
  • At present, the construction of subsidised housing (VPO) accounts for 50% of all new housing. As a result this type of housing now accounts for 11% of all residential real estate in Spain.
  • 1/3 of Spain’s more than 25 million houses are holiday homes.

    • 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.

    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)

    Sales rise for the 5th consecutive month.

    April 6, 2011 – 8:22 am

    G-14 signal better times ahead for property in Spain and Tenerife

    The market for new homes is on the road to a mild recovery, claims the G-14 group of Spain’s leading developers. Sales of newly built homes will continue “consolidating in the coming months” said Pedro Pérez, head of the G-14. There is some basis for the developer’s optimism in the latest sales figures from the National Institute of Statistics. Sales of newly built properties increased by 7.6% from August to September, though on an annualised basis sales were down 20%.

    “It’s been comforting to see sales rise for the 5th consecutive month, something that means we can say that the sector is recovering since it touched bottom in April,” Pérez told the Spanish press.

    Sales are bouncing back thanks to lower prices and more selective mortgage lending by banks, argue the developers.

    The recovery in sales will continue in the months ahead, says Pérez, in part because developers will make “every effort possible” to make prices more attractive.

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

    Housing glut shrinking in Spain

    March 15, 2011 – 10:42 am

    On the back of official figures showing housing sales up last year, Spain’s Association of Developers and Constructors (APCE) forecast the housing glut will shrink this year for the first time since the crisis began.“A change in the trend” is how , President of the APCE describes the latest sales figures showing the market grew by 6.8pc last year, and by 5.1pc if you exclude social housing.

    Galindo, pictured left, told the Spanish press that the official figures do not count repossessions or debt-for-property swaps as sales, meaning that last year’s increase was a genuine increase in home sales, driven by a recovery in demand. As a result of rising home sales and plunging new housing starts, the APCE forecasts that Spain’s  housing glut will start to shrink from this year on. “More flats are now being sold then built,” Galindo told the Spanish press.

    Galindo also forecasts that official figures will continue growing for at least the first couple of months this year thanks to a surge in transactions at the end of last year before mortgage tax credits were eliminated. Sales take a couple of months to get counted in the official figures. After that, however, the official figures are likely to go down.

    Looking at the market in Tenerife as an example, more property transactions are taking place again after a difficult period in the property sector.

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