If you like many others have been waiting and waiting for the Spanish property crisis to finally be at end, there may now be a glimmer of hope for you. Well it’s not only a glimmer, a significant ray of light has begun to shine once again on the construction, lending and mortgage systems in Spain, making it all round good news for people wanting to get back into the arena again. The fact of the matter is the Spanish property market is almost in full recovery, and acting now on that Spanish villa or beach front apartment in Marbella is a great idea.
Here are the main reasons why…
The Spanish Property Market – It’s in the figures
Property consultant Mark Stucklin of Spanish Property Insights states that Spanish market did indeed bottom out in 2014 and now is back in recovery. The market has increased 14% year on year as a whole but by a huge 53% in the resale area, a very substantial increase. Fernando Encinar, head of research at Idealista. also says that ‘The data shows that the worst of the real estate crisis is behind us. The two speed recovery is now a reality, and whilst some market segments have started to see modest price increases, in others owners still have to reduce their expectations in order to make a sale.’
Exchange rate
It’s a fact now that current exchange rates are looking very positive as far as oversea buyers in particular are concerned. Sterling is particularly high against the euro making the exchange of your investment more profitable. “The British pound is at a seven year high against the euro, a two million euro property would have cost £1.67 million a year ago, but just £1.44 million today, some 14% more affordable,” says Alejandra Vanoli, managing director of Mallorca Sotheby’s International Realty. With that in mind it is not hard to see why investors from the UK, Switzerland, Germany and United Arab Emirates are looking to Spain now to purchase properties, as they see an attractive and very lucrative opening here.
Sales are up prices are down.
Even though there has been a surge in buying Spanish property the figure for overall prices are still down. Data from the general council of Notaires shows that property sales up almost 2% in April, whereas prices were still down by 3.9%. The council says a total of 30,758 transactions were completed which “reflects the stabilisation in monthly sales.” Buyers are also able to get higher loans with the average mortgage up 9.2% to €122,119.
An independent report from Euroval shows that sales increased in the last couple of years by 21.63% between 2013 and 2014. The largest numbers of transactions are still taking place in Andalusia, which represents 19.2% of the total volume.
A growth in the Costa del Sol Property market
Construction has started to begin again on the Costa del Sol and more and more houses, holiday homes and luxury properties are starting to be purchased. Results on a study by IPE, a business school that specialises in real estate, claims the property sector will grow 10% in beach destinations like the Costa del Sol. José Antonio Pérez, from the IPE says the “In particular, the Costa del Sol property market has a bright future,” in comments to the Spanish press. Sales in Malaga province, home to the Costa del Sol, are already up 10% this year, and now represent 5% of all sales nationwide. This is fantastic news for the Costa del Sol.
Golden Visa Scheme in Spain
All of these reasons combined with the introduction of a new law Golden Visa, allowing non EU citizens in Spain automatic residency. This law is set out clearly to attract entrepreneurs to Spain and therefore attract foreign investment in Spanish real estate and job creation, thus entering a new phase of recovery for the economy. It gives non EU nationals the chance to get qualified residency permits for investments in Spanish property, leading to long term residency here with specific conditions. The conditions are that Spanish residency, and the ability to travel freely in the European Schengen area (for 90 out of every 180 days), will be a major attraction for many non-EU investors.
That is showing you only a few reasons to be cheerful if you are looking to buy property in Marbella or anywhere on the Costa del Sol, there are more that are as equally as encouraging. We will keep you informed of course. Expect more good news.
