The attitude of some Spanish property agents is surprising to say the least.

Here we are in the depths of a recession, with dwindling numbers of prospective buyers and with a growing number of desperate sellers, and just at the time when agents should be going that extra mile to sell their properties and think of expanding their routes to market on behalf of their vendors, a surprising number are happy to sit back and wait for the business to fall into their laps.

We recently handled a client who had previously been out on a trip with one of the best known agents in the Costa del Sol property market. He had been met at the airport by a salesman in a Mercedes, and seen a number of lovely properties during his tour. Just one problem – none of the properties matched the client´s budget. After 2 days of increasingly frustrating house-hunting, the client returned home rather annoyed, feeling that his time had been wasted. He had been told that what he was looking for simply didn´t exist.

It did exist, and the client bought it. Unfortunately for the agent in question, this particular property wasn’t lying on their books. Rather than expanding the search and using the available network of countless other agents on the Costa del Sol to find the client´s ideal property, the agent decided to restrict the choice for the client in the hope of raising his budget. It proved to be a flawed strategy, and a foolish one when you consider the current economic turmoil we find ourselves in.

This is fairly typical of the lazy, short-sighted approach that is offered by some Spanish property agents.

Most clients really don´t have the time or the energy to traipse around with 4 or 5 different real estate agents looking for their ideal property in Spain, so my advice to prospective buyers is to select an agent that proves that they are proactive.

Ask them how they intend to source the properties that you are going to see. Ask if they will they collaborate with other agents? If not, you will find yourselves severely restricted and probably very frustrated!