Positive Spain

[DC]

Hi

There is good news and bad news.

The good news is prices are correcting in Spain. ie. going down.
The bad news is for sellers and developers.
The good news is for buyers.

Also with the situation being worse on the ground, the situation in town halls. Corruption etc will have to be kept to a minimum. Things are getting much more ship shape. Banks wont lend unless everything is correct. And less dodgy deals are being done. eg. Black money etc. Which is all good for the international buyer.

Spain over the next 5 months will get worse and we see then in 2009 stablise and then if the global economy improves it will as well. The market is still going down, and really the next 6 to 12 months is the time to buy.

Get a good value property before things perk up again. So Spain still offers. Sun. Security, beaches, access, good food, friendly locals. It is an excellent place to live, and is good for families.

So see you in Spain, to buy an affordable house or apartment now!
Good luck every one.

 

[Magellan]

You may be right, but I'd wait a while yet if you're looking to invest. My feeling is prices have much, much, much further to fall

 

[Magellan]

PS, of course that's if you're looking at it as an investment. If you're retiting/holidaying/living etc then it doesn't really matter

 

[DC]

Sun still shining, coffee is good, and their seems to be alot of the grey rinse brigade over here, still on the beaches and using the pools. I heard in the UK, it was cold, miserable and raining, and in a financial crisis, so Spain though not perfect is still better, safer and more relaxed than many places.

 

[egray]

Sun still shining, coffee is good, and their seems to be alot of the grey rinse brigade over here, still on the beaches and using the pools. I heard in the UK, it was cold, miserable and raining, and in a financial crisis, so Spain though not perfect is still better, safer and more relaxed than many places.

Couldn't agree more. Perhaps not the best investment place right now, but for quality of life, Spain is hard to beat: the weather is superb, the people are friendly and welcoming, the coffee is superb and the food is cheap. For me, there's still plenty of reasons to buy in Spain, especially if you're wanting to relocate as opposed to investing.

 

[andyintheworld]

Canary Islands have all the advantages of Spain but with the addition of year-round sunshine.

A good apartment here can be let for 40+ weeks.
I have a couple of these in South of Tenerife - Studios, 1 beds and 2 beds on a very popular complex. All with excellent rental history (40 weeks plus) generating good income.

Anything without rental is barely moving, still quite a lot of buyers from countries other than UK and Ireland though - they still seem to have money.

 

[rowlandsbb]

But not as cheap to get to!...and perhaps in some locations prices are cheaper!!

 

[andyintheworld]

But not as cheap to get to!...and perhaps in some locations prices are cheaper!!

Yeah - its a bit further but the tourist figures speak for themselves and I can show you 40 weeks plus per year in these apartments so it kind of seems irrelevant.

40 weeks rental is a load better than relying on a couple of months in the summer in Spain.

 

[rowlandsbb]

Well, in Spain if you pick the right location and do the job properly you can also get high occupancy levels....not everywhere and not everyone is prepared to do the work neccessary but that applies to the Spanish islands as well as mainland

In th end for life styel buyers who want to earn some income from their home , the most important aspect is buying in the right location for your own use......from mainland Spain you can jump on a plane at a moments notice quite cheaply and get back to UK or just use your home in Spain for a long weekend....this is a big plus for many which is why the mainland is so popular

 

[andyintheworld]

Yeah - just not as sunny though...
I can go sunbathing and swimming in January....
So I think for lifestyle, Canaries win

We have lots of "swallows" - people who arrive at the end of October and leave in February - 3 months solid rental - repeat business.

Whilst it is the same country, they are different places and it is much lower tax here - including tax on property purchase.

Just cant see the occupancy level being the same - you can also charge "summer rental prices" pretty much all year round.

 

[Magthemuck]

British character

I understand that there are some decent Brits in Spain but the majority are oversized, red faced (from sun, eating unhealthily and alcohol) alcoholics, pot bellied , most men have huge bald heads and the woman wear clothes from the 1950,s in Manchester or Leeds.not flexible to learn languages, easily pleased i.e. fish and chips or an english breakfast would be preferred to a Spanish tapas or fish dish.

not just me moaning but what i actually saw during many years in Spain, just go to Alicante airport and watch the arrivals ex Leeds, Glasgow, stanstead etc then look at the planes coming in from sweden, holland or Germany.

The problem with Spain is that it is overridden with Brits with nothing to offer the economy except the few drinking bars and fat food cafes.

This is one main reason why the spanish property market will remain bad for the British market, Europeans will find cosier more spanish places ok with a bit of their own culture but nowhere near the scale of Brits. i have spoken to continentals who cannot believe that the British live/rent in those huge golf projects as if its a middle class coronation street on a huge scale.

property prices are going to remain low kook at the report today about spanish banks in crisis and the unemployment level in Spain the highest in Europe. Yes there are deals to be had but in ghost town projects with no rental future which have been taken over by the banks.

My advice to any customers dont go via Real estate agents but if you really must purchase go to the banks directly and you will save megga bucks.

 

[Magthemuck]

Banks owned property

For customers as you see there are deals but go directly to the bank not via an agent otherwise they will want a commission they are not advertising for nothing whilst banks have the properties anyway and want to get rid of them. Do check the extra costs of living on a project and add on 100% to any costsyou are given because the sellers will lie. Ref facilities check on customer forum sites to see what other customers have to say about customer service etc and if the bars are really open on the resorts, and what about security, is your propert really safe?mmmm

One forum site i refer to which gives good advice from customers about the Murcia area is: polarisworldforum site click on google to find

for example look at remarks about the resort El Valle and you will get an idea about customer service and how the owners are being treated

my advice don,t buy until 2011 when all the embezzlers have been found out,

 

[DC]

Hi thank you for contributing, I dont know what part of Spain you are in, Magthemuck but you have a completely different term of reference and experience to me.

In short I can not agree with any thing you say, but that is the beauty of forums you are free to express your opinion.

Any thing positive to write anyone.

eg. Glorious weather in November, December, ideal for mountain walking, biking in the countryside.

 

[Damian George]

until the spanish banks start lending again there will be trouble in all property markets.

Spain is dead until next half of 2010 at least

We are seeing movement in both France and New Zealand which is a little surprising

 

[DC]

France is giving 100% mortgages. Spain will be back. Retirement capital of Europe.

Who has the money, the retirees... where else they going to go?

Turkey? Morocco? Italy and France have their respective chances, climate is bad in France, or not as good as Spain, Italy has its own problems. Southern Italy is a new area, but it has 30years to catch up.

 

[advoco]

Although theoretically prices could have further to fall with the supply side weighing down the market and certain coastal areas still held back by strerling weakness, I wonder if in practice prices will drop. It seems like the banks are the main drivers of the market and they seem to have fixed their discount levels this year and I don't see those falling further. If you can get a quality property in an area with a good long term future at a price 30-40% below peak then that's a reasonable deal although still not a good investment i.e. you won't lose or make a fortune either way.

 

[rowlandsbb]

Tend to agree with Advoco
priavte owners are only selling if they have to and the builders with ready now stock are more often than not controlled by the bankers and therfore the view that prices in general have now found a new level has some merits
There are always exceptions but 30/40% off peak , if you can find what you like , will turn out in general to be a good medium to long term buy
And of course CAM Bank 80 %LTV mortgages on their properties is a good deal just now for non residents