Rental prices fall in Spain’s cities

February 3, 2012 – 10:25 am

Rental property prices fall in Spain and Tenerife

Rental prices fell in 77pc of Spain’s primary rental markets (cities), according to a study by Spanish property portal Idealista and the Public Rental Company(SPA).

Rents fell the most in Toledo (-8.7pc) and Oviedo (-6.8pc) but rose in Lleida (+11.2pc), Bilbao (+4.2pc), and Alicante (+4.1pc).

The average cost of renting a home in Spain declined in 2011, as you would expect with property prices falling.

In Spain’s biggest cities, rental prices fell 1.3pc in Madrid, 3.1pc in Barcelona and 4pc in Valencia.

The latest annual rental decline follows a bigger decline in 2010, so the cost of both buying and renting a homes in Spain has been getting cheaper for several years.

The study was based on 38,000 properties listed for rent in the 12 months to the end of December.

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

Opportunities to purchase properties at low prices in Tenerife and Spain

September 6, 2011 – 8:23 am

Property bargains available in Spain, Tenerife and the islands

During the last three decades, hundreds of thousands of Britons have purchased property in Spain. Nonetheless, a surplus of villas and apartments has spawned due to mortgage defaults from British buyers. By noting the declining property prices during the month of June, according to valuation and consulting firm Tinsa’s latest General IMIE (Spanish Property Market Index) report, one can see the opportunity to purchase Spanish property at a low price. This is why British investors are continuing to invest in the Spanish real estate market.

Along the Mediterranean coast, the Balearic and Canary Island archipelagos are amongst the most popular tourist and investment attractions in Spain. The Balearic Islands feature Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza, and Formentera. With its Opera House, Mallorca offers a stately and elegant experience, while King Juan Carlos’ castle sits in Palma. Menorca offers a drier climate than the aforementioned Mallorca, in addition to cool breezes. Menorca has also garnered fame for its production of leather goods and gin. Ibiza has recently improved its reputation from years past, and Formentera offers an intimate and secluded getaway.

The Mediterranean Coast offers numerous overseas investment opportunities.

From the bright lights of Benidorm to the opulence of Moraira and the resorts towns of Javea and Denia, the Costa Blanca offers a smorgasbord of options. The Costa Blanca is serviced by Alicante airport, now supplemented by inexpensive flights to Valencia on the northern Costa. This enhances tourists and property buyers’ access to the Spanish region during the year. The Costa features the Mediterranean highway, which runs alongside the coast for virtually the entire length of the Costa Blanca, enabling easy travel.

Tenerife and the Canary islands, firm favourites over the years with the British has property available at prices not heard of during the last five years. Maybe this is the time to bag that bargain?

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

Spain still top for clean beaches

June 9, 2011 – 11:10 am

Spain and Tenerife's blue flag beaches entice tourists

Despite considerable commercial development along its coastline, it appears that Spain has managed to keep its waters amazingly pristine – 511 of its beaches have been awarded the prestigious Blue Flag eco label this year, proving the nation is still a prized tourist destination for natural attractions.

For the second year running, the country attained the largest number of the prestigious environmental certifications out of any country in Europe, with 104 of Valencia’s beaches, 66 in Andalucia and 63 of the Balearic Islands’ idyllic coves being awarded.

Local authorities can nominate their own beaches for the Blue Flag certification, but it must adhere to strict environmental standards, which have led to a number of previously awarded beaches being struck off the list in recent years, including some in Britain and Israel. Spain’s continuing vigilance when it comes to the environmental quality of its waterways will ensure it remains the ‘beach capital’ of the Continent this summer, a fact which is sure to please estate agents and property owners looking for a happy high season. 

“It is hard to find a better beach haven than Spain and we are lucky that many of our residential developments reside where Blue Flags fly high”, said Ignacio Osle, sales director at locally-based housebuilder Taylor WImpey de Espana. “Beaches across Spain have been vastly improving year on year and along with the relatively short flight times from anywhere in Europe combined with declining holiday costs, visitors will no doubt continue to flock to Spain to sample its glorious beaches.”

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

New figures on Spain’s house repossessions released

May 6, 2011 – 10:28 am

Spanish repossessions indicate that Tenerife and the Balearics are fairing well

There were 93,622 home repossession processes started last year, according to figures from Spain’s official judicial body (Consejo General del Poder Judicial).

That represents an all-time high, slightly above the previous record high in 2009, and 4 times higher than at the start of the crisis.

The body also warned that the figures might understate the true number of foreclosures thanks to the way the data is gathered.

There have been a total of 271,570 repossessions since the start of the crisis in 2007, when there were just 25,943 foreclosures, rising to 58,686 in 2008, 93,319 in 2009, and 93,622 last year.

Last year repossessions rose the most in Extremadura (+32pc), followed by Valencia (+11pc) and Murcia (+8pc). Repossessions fell by 14pc in The Balearics.

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

Serious vendors dropping prices to ensure a sale.

July 25, 2010 – 2:25 pm

Serious sellers in Tenerife and Spain drop prices to ensure the saleA growing number of vendors trying to sell their homes are dropping their asking prices, according to new research by one of Spain’s leading property portals. Asking prices for 18,007 resale properties in the Idealista database were reduced in June, 30% more than same time last year, and the highest level for 2 years. The number of price reductions has been on the rise every month since January, causing the 12-month average trend to rise after falling for about a year. But if the number of discounted properties is growing, the average discount value is not. Discount values peaked at the beginning of last year and have been declining ever since, so it’s a story of more, but smaller discounts.

The markets where the biggest proportion of vendors decided to drop prices were Madrid (9.3%) and Barcelona (7.4%). That means vendors in Spain’s two biggest markets are becoming more focused on finding a buyer.

- Asking prices were down just 0.5% in Q1 over Q2, to 2,374 €/m2.
- Prices rose in 5 regions: The Balearics (+2,4%) Galicia (+1,6%), Castilla y León (+1%), The Basque Country (+0,9%) y La Rioja (+0,6%).
- Prices rose just by 2 €/m2 in Barcelona, to 4,084 €/m2. Even so, prices there are still below where they were 5 years ago in Q1 2005. They are down 16.4% from the peak of 4,888 €/m2 in Q1 2007.
- Madrid fell 0.4% in Q1, to 3,831 €/m2, 11.2% below the peak of 4,315 €/m2 in Q2 2007.
- Valencia fell 0.7% to 2,335 €/m2, 18.4% below the Q2 2007 peak of 2,861 €/m2

Sellers in Tenerife and the Canary Isles are  also following this trend to ensure a quick sale.

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

Spanish property market grows once more

May 16, 2010 – 11:17 am
Spanish and Canarian property on the risw once more.

Spanish and Canarian property on the rise once more.

The Spanish property market grew by 16% in February compared to the same month last year, according to the latest figures to be published by the country’s National Institute of Statistics
Not including social housing, there were 35,720 home sales in February, 21,368 of them newly built and 19,665 resales. According to analysts the market has touched bottom and is starting to recovery after two years of decline but the improvement is patchy and volumes are still 47% below what they were in 2007.

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.

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