bargain spanish properties buying spanish property in sterling euro sterling exchange rate properties in spain for sale 
The general feeling is that most British buyers are waiting for sterling to recover to particular ´trigger´ rates such as 1.15 and in particular 1.20
In fact, the last 2 weeks has seen a surge of UK enquiries for property in Spain after sterling rallied over 5% to hit the first of these magical triggers.
But let´s look at this situation from the other side. As we previously mentioned, most of the Spanish properties for sale in the key hotspots of the Costa del Sol and Costa Blanca are owned by British vendors, and during the demise of sterling in the last 12 months, they have been able to lower their asking prices considerably, and in some cases accept incredibly low offers, precisely because of sterling´s dire straits. Continue reading »
buy spanish property in sterling euro rates euro sterling exchange rate foreign curremcy exchange The recent rise in the value of sterling against the euro has led to as much as a 40% increase in the number of Brits buying the European single currency.
With the sterling euro exchange rate hovering at around 1.15 in recent days, many Brits who regarded this figure as a psychological trigger to exchange currencies have taken advantage of the 12% increase in sterling´s value within the last 12 months.
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bargain properties in spain distressed spanish property euro sterling exchange rate spanish properties for sale Many potential UK-based buyers of Spanish property are holding off in making a purchase, firm in the belief that they are best waiting until sterling has recovered at least some of its lost ground against the euro.
Of course, this makes sense. Why buy something now, when you can get it for 20% less in 6 or 12 months time?
But one interesting statistic may make those UK based buyers sit up and take notice. As one of the leading Spanish property portals, we have noticed increasing volumes of enquiries during the last 6 months – strange when you think of the financial mess everyone is supposed to be in. I guess this means that the purchase of a Spanish property is still on the agenda for plenty of people, particularly as the prices have come down and started to look so attractive. Although around 70% of our enquiries eminate from UK based clients, 70% of the actual sales volume can be attributed to non-UK buyers. And in the vast majority of cases, these buyers are from the eurozone.
costa blanca property costa del sol property euro rates euro sterling exchange rate spanish property bargain With the value of sterling finally beginning to rise against the single European currency, we are likely to see a shift in the type of deals that we have become accustomed to here in Spain.
During the last 6 months, with sterling in freefall and the Spanish property market in dire straits, it has seemed that most property transactions in the Brit-dominated areas such as the Costa Blanca and the Costa del Sol have consisted of a British vendor who is happy to trade with a strong euro, and a buyer from the eurozone, keen to snap up a Spanish property bargain and take advantage of the thousands of Brits making the exodus back to the UK.
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euro sterling exchange rate marbella nightlife restaurants in marbella tapas bars in marbella I travelled from the Costa del Sol to London last week, and often found myself popping into Waitrose or Tesco to pick up a salad or a wrap, normally costing around 3 or 4 pounds. Great value healthy food, with no preparation needed. Simply pay, eat and get on with your day.
In Spain, if you take a look around your typical supermarket like Supersol or Mercadona, you will see rows of fruit and veg, fresh fish, meats, cheeses, bread, olives, canned tuna, tinned sauces, and then a large frozen section with items such as pizzas, frozen fish etc.
But what is sorely lacking is a tempting variety of ready meals and convenience foods in a chilled section. It just doesn´t exist.
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bars in puerto banus buy spanish property in sterling discos in puerto banus euro sterling exchange rate puerto banus apartments to rent I went to watch the England vs Ukraine football match at Linekers bar in Puerto Banus last week.
For those of you unfamiliar with the Linekers concept, it´s basically a large disco/bar that´s very popular with football fans as it shows the majority of English football matches live on its many TV screens. In fact, I spent the first hour of my visit last week watching not only the England match, but also thinking that Ireland were beating Italy 1-0 until it was kindly explained to me that the score was actually 1-0 to Italy – the broadcast was being fed from a Middle Eastern TV channel, and apparently the scores are always displayed back to front! Continue reading »
apartment in elviria costa del sol property euro sterling exchange rate property in elviria rent in elviria spanish property In April 2001, I moved to Spain and bought myself a little 2 bed apartment in Elviria, up in the beautiful foothills around 10 kilometers from the centre of Marbella.
At the time, this property in Elviria cost me 23 million pesetas (remember those!!). That equated to around £90,000 at the time, and was the equivalent of €138,000 (at the fixed rate of 166.386 pesetas = 1 euro).
After 3 years, I sold this apartment in Elviria for 279,000 euros, giving me a sizeable return of over 100%.
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