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Although many prospective Spanish property buyers are keen to invest in property for sale in Mallorca or the other Balearic islands of Menorca and Ibiza, most buyers still seem to be favouring making a purchase on the Spanish mainland.
With the majority of buyers now purchasing properties in Spain for 2nd homes, holiday residences and jet-set boltholes, the key criteria are now related to year-round ease of access, amenities and weather.
Many find that although a 2 week holiday on the beach in Mallorca is idyllic in the summer, during the winter months when people are often looking to best utilise their place in the sun, island living doesn´t quite stack up.
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With the European housing market stagnating, it seems that more and more home-owners are choosing to renovate their properties in Spain, instead of trying to find a new one.
Acccording to Ted Jones, one of the most respected British builders on the Costa del Sol, he has seen a huge upsurge in the number of clients seeking his services for renovation projects on the Costa del Sol.
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Yes, there are forced and distressed sales in Spain. But NOT everyone is absolutely desperate. Most sellers have mortgages to pay and they simply cannot sell for an amount that´s less than their mortgage balance, unless they are prepared to pay the difference themselves to the bank, or enter repossession proceedings.
The truth is that the majority of sellers bought their properties in Spain as 2nd homes and the present financial crisis has merely focused them on the realization that they probably stretched themselves a little too far in the good times. In their minds, something has to give, and the apartment in Marbella can justifiably be offloaded.
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These are tough times in the Spanish property market, and with estate agents closing down throughout Spain on a daily basis, you would have thought that those remaining would be trying to find smarter ways of working and exploring new opportunities to sell properties in Spain.
There is now a buyers´ market for Spanish property, and most prospective purchasers want to find a genuine bargain in Spain. To do so, they are far more likely to shop around to find their ideal Spanish property bargain, and to use more than one agent.
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PRICING
Thirdly, check the pricing. Although many commentators think that it´s now a great time to pick up a bargain Spanish property, you will need to tread carefully when dealing with an off-plan project. If a developer acquired the land during the recent boom years, chances are that he will need to recoup this cost by charging a premium to his buyers. Ask your lawyer to find out when the land was purchased – this will at least give you an idea of the yields that the developer is working with.
PROJECT PARTNERS
If you are considering buying into a resort-style development in Spain, check the status of the contracts that have been drawn up between the developers and any 3rd parties that are critical to the project´s success, i.e. golf course management and design companies, hotel management companies etc. For instance, if the resort´s main selling point is the on-site premium hotel and spa, try and make sure that the hotel will be built, and is not just on the wish-list of the developer. Continue reading »
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I´ve just been told that the UK has endured its coldest winter for 13 years. To be honest, it´s also been a pretty dismal winter here in Southern Spain, certainly the worst that I can recall since I bought my property in Marbella 8 years ago. The local Spanish people cannot believe it – they are always complaining about the cold and damp conditions. Certainly not very Mediettanean!
So I guess we must all be enduring a cold ´snap´ across Europe in general.
Although the UK seems unable to cope with ice and snow, it is certainly able to cope with the cold. In fact it does it very well. Each time I go to the UK during the winter months, I have the luxury of sitting in warm, cosy homes with radiators and carpets. Oh, the joys of central heating!
Continue reading »
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I am frequently asked by owners of Spanish property if I think they should sell their properties in Spain.
Unless they desperately need the money, then my answer every time would be ´no´.
Prices are falling, and we are entering a European recession. All buyers are looking to secure a bargain property in Spain and are subsequently making (sometimes) silly offers, even on the best priced properties. Continue reading »
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I´ve recently been approached by a number of clients anxious to sell their properties in Spain. Nothing new in that, but I noticed that several of them expressed a preference to instruct an estate agent based in the UK to do the job.
When I asked the vendors why they felt it necessary to do this, they replied that they felt it would be easier to communicate with a UK based agent, and that they would be able to pick up the phone to them or pop into their office at any time for an update on the progress of their Spanish property sale.
This is madness! Would you try to sell your property in the UK by instructing an agent in Marbella, or Madrid….or Milwaukee? Continue reading »
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Last week the Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero announced that even though the economic situation may be tough at the moment an economic recovery is expected to start in the second half of 2009, refuting a report by the IMF stating that this would not happen until at least 2010. He also said that this year would be a serious challenge for his government but how he was determined that the recovery in Spain would be managed efficiently.
A huge 11 billion euro recovery budget was unveiled recently aimed at kick-starting the economy, by creating 300,000 new jobs using 8 billion euros and the remaining 3 billion euros is going into a Special State Fund which will be spent on the environment, struggling industries and research and development.
Continue reading »
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As we discussed in a previous article, competition for the best rental apartments and villas in Spain can be fierce.
Most people looking to rent a property in Spain on a long-term basis are either thinking of relocating or are looking for a stop-gap after selling their Spanish property. This means that both furnished and unfurnished properties in Spain are in high demand.
