Are buyers returning to the Spanish real estate market?

[Nicholas Wallwork]

In the aftermath of the 2008/9 worldwide economic meltdown the Spanish and the Portuguese real estate markets seemed to be amongst the hardest hit. There was a massive buildup of repossessions and to a certain

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[DC]

Market is growing, there are still lots of repos, but American hedge funds actually own more than the Spanish banks now. Why , because they brought in low prices. And they see it going one way.

 

[Longterminvestor]

There were a lot of US hedge funds buying into Spanish property at the bottom of the market. They were keen to take massive portfolios at rock bottom prices. I dont think they will hold on forever and a day and could actually end up being a greyish cloud over any short to medium term recovery - they can simply turn the taps on and off and feed demand. This will probably stop prices gettting too carried away for the forseable future.

 

[lookinginvest]

The Italian financial crisis is not going away, Greece is still a mess and there is talk that German businesses are putting pressure on the EU to sort out a Brexit deal with UK. I dont think the EU has yet pulled away from the choppy waters which emerged after the 2008 worldwide economic downturn. Tred with caution!

 

[Longterminvestor]

I don’t think the issues with Catalonia have gone away just yet. If Catalonia agreed any degree of independence from Spain this would hit the Spanish economy very hard. Less income, less funds to invest, which would probably have a significant impact on property prices?

 

[Locoinvestor]

I don’t think the issues with Catalonia have gone away just yet. If Catalonia agreed any degree of independence from Spain this would hit the Spanish economy very hard. Less income, less funds to invest, which would probably have a significant impact on property prices?

I've just picked up on this thread: now in 2019 would one say it's the right time to invest in Spanish property? There seems to still be a bargain to be had however is it flooded with cheap options? Such as all those apartment buildings one sees completely empty? Or is it still a good long-term investment with a view to Air B&Bing it?

 

[Longterminvestor]

There have certainly been signs of an upturn in demand for Spanish property but recently growth rates have started to fall. Germany is currently on the verge of recession, France is struggling and the UK is about to leave the European Union. Not a lot going for the region at the moment?

 

[realdeals]

I sometimes think that the EU is actually in a far worse mess than the UK even with a hard Brexit. So to see demand for Spainish property falling is not a surprise.

 

[Locoinvestor]

There have certainly been signs of an upturn in demand for Spanish property but recently growth rates have started to fall. Germany is currently on the verge of recession, France is struggling and the UK is about to leave the European Union. Not a lot going for the region at the moment?

Would one say that the clever money sits on it for the moment and observes what's going to unfold?

 

[Locoinvestor]

I sometimes think that the EU is actually in a far worse mess than the UK even with a hard Brexit. So to see demand for Spainish property falling is not a surprise.

Yes I think you're right, one sometimes gets so caught up in our own domestic problems, one forgets the state of other countries' domestic situations.

 

[SimonPorta]

According to Nadezhda Gurina, a real estate analyst with Tranio, last year became a record year for the Spanish residential real estate market. Residential properties increased by 10.1% in 2018 compared with the previous year, and the number of registered transactions exceeded 500 thousand, which was the highest result since 2010. But the boom in this sector will not last forever. The aggressive growth of the market will end in the second half of 2019. However, despite the trend change, a recession or a crisis is not expected:
tranio.com/articles/overview-of-the-current-spanish-property-market/

 

[Longterminvestor]

Spain depends a lot on UK visitors and expats so Brexit will be a big issue for Spain. I have not really seen this mentioned anywhere which surprises me. If expats are not as welcome in Spain this could take quite a few property buyers out of the market - especially coastal markets.

I would hold off just for now.

 

[Locoinvestor]

Spain depends a lot on UK visitors and expats so Brexit will be a big issue for Spain. I have not really seen this mentioned anywhere which surprises me. If expats are not as welcome in Spain this could take quite a few property buyers out of the market - especially coastal markets.

I would hold off just for now.

Would this not effectively be shooting themselves in the foot, though? Because surely they must know that a large proportion of their GDP and investment comes from British expats and holiday makers?

 

[PostBrexitInvestor]

I totally agree, on the news today there was talk of huge income losses as a consequence of Thomas Cook’s demise. Spain needs the UK as much as the UK needs Spain/the EU.

 

[Locoinvestor]

I totally agree, on the news today there was talk of huge income losses as a consequence of Thomas Cook’s demise. Spain needs the UK as much as the UK needs Spain/the EU.

Exactly! Even more so. It's so hard as we are fed one set of propaganda and those living in Spain and other EU countries are fed another set...

 

[FWL]

This is all a very dangerous game of cat and mouse, high-stakes poker, with no party even in a position to take all of the spoils. There would be no winners without a Brexit deal.

 

[Locoinvestor]

This is all a very dangerous game of cat and mouse, high-stakes poker, with no party even in a position to take all of the spoils. There would be no winners without a Brexit deal.

The thing is, whatever happens on Halloween, the World keeps revolving, investors keep investing, and we won't know what the exact implications will be, certainly for UK investors in Europe, surely for many months...even years...but the fact remains that once we have all understood what we need to do, people will still go on holiday so the market won't disappear...

 

[lookinginvest]

I totally agree. Even if the worst-case scenario is confirmed the markets can re-evaluate themselves and we can start again.

 

[Locoinvestor]

I totally agree. Even if the worst-case scenario is confirmed the markets can re-evaluate themselves and we can start again.

Exactly! And let's face it, we're going to find out very soon what's going to happen...and, really, we're just going to have to deal with it and move on!

 

[lookinginvest]

If investment markets panicked half as much as MPs and the general public then we would be in serious trouble! Investment markets take a cold approach to issues such as Brexit and let the facts speak for themselves.