Market for new homes on road to recovery say developers

The market for new homes is on the road to a mild recovery, claims the G-14 group of Spain’s leading developers. Sales of newly built homes will continue “consolidating in the coming months” said Pedro Pérez, head of the G-14. Let’s hope this is not just wishful thinking by developers desperate for the market to start mopping up the glut of properties they created............... Read More >

Spanish housing stock predicted to fall 7pc in value this year

Spain’s housing stock will fall 7% in value this year, to 4.19 trillion Euros, according to a new report from the Funcas savings banks foundation. They also say there is too much rubbish property for sale, which it will take years for the market to digest............... Read More >

New report forecasts rising glut and falling prices

Rising supply coupled with weak demand will continue to drive down Spanish property prices says a new report on the Spanish property sector by DBK, a business consultancy............... Read More >

The British are starting to buy again in Spain

The “A Place in the Sun” exhibition confirms that 60% of purchasers prefer Spain and think prices are at rock bottom. The hoped-for green shoots of the economy in the UK were showing their heads in Birmingham last weekend, when thousands of people turned out for the “A Place in the Sun” exhibition............... Read More >

Spanish property market collapse loses momentum, for now

The collapse in Spanish property sales appears to be running out of steam, which is good news of sorts. The latest monthly sales figures from the National Institute of Statistics (INE) show there were 33,694 home sales in July............... Read More >

Knight Frank global house price index shows Spain in 10th place for price falls

With Spanish property prices down by 8.3% over 12 months to the end of June, Spain is in 10th place for annualised price declines according to the Global House Price Index just released by international real estate consultants Knight Frank............... Read More >

Spanish property prices bottoming out says leading index

Residential Spanish property prices fell by 8.9% over 12 months to the end of August, according to the latest Spanish property price index published by Tinsa, one of Spain’s leading appraisal companies. If these figures are accurate then the rate of decline in Spanish property prices has bottomed out at around 10%............... Read More >

Sharp improvement in housing affordability as property prices come down

The cost of property relative to income, known as housing affordability, has improved sharply this year as Spanish property prices have tumbled with the housing crisis. The percentage of annual gross income that Spanish families have to spend on financing the purchase of a home............... Read More >

New mortgages rise by 7pc in June

These figures, from Spain’s National Institute of Statistics, also reveal that accumulated new mortgage signings were down 31% in the first 6 months of the year compared to the same period last year............... Read More >

Banks pushing to finish developments unlikely to sell

There was a time when Spanish banks were relaxed about letting developers go under, but that changed when banks realised that even wounded developers are better at the property game than they are. Now it seems banks would rather keep developers afloat and working on completing homes................ Read More >

Spanish economy still hooked on construction despite falling output

The Spanish economy is still woefully dependent on the construction sector despite a property crash now well into its second year. The latest figures from Eurostat – the EU’s statistics office – show that construction sector output (or gross value added) in Spain was 10.3% of GDP............... Read More >

Latest Euribor and Spanish mortgage news

Euribor (12 months), the interest rate normally used to calculate mortgage payments in Spain, fell to an all time record low of 1.41% in July, down from the previous record low of 1.61% in May. Euribor is now 73.8% lower than it was this time last year............... Read More >

Mayor of Marbella challenges Seville to extend amnesty to all illegal homes

No demolitions whatsoever of occupied homes, no matter how illegal. That was the campaign promise of María Ángeles Muñoz, the lady mayor of Marbella, and it is a promise she appears to be sticking to as she turns up the pressure on the regional government in Seville to rule out demolitions in Marbella’s new town-plan.............. Read More >

Live in Spain - Work in England

Budget airlines such as Easyjet & Ryanair are making continental commutes to Spain very popular and easy to book on line, with so many people currently living hours from London, and commuting to the capital daily for work, the era of budget airlines is making living in Spain a viable proposition.............. Read More >

Euribor falls to 1.61pc in June

Euribor (12 months), the interest rate normally used to calculate mortgage payments in Spain, fell to an all time record low of 1.61% in June, down from the previous record low of 1.44% in May. This will bring relief to borrowers on annually resetting mortgages.............. Read More >

Spain - The land of the owner/occupier

More Spaniards own their own homes than any other country in the Eurozone, confirm new figures from Eurostat - the EU’s statistics office. 83% of Spanish families own the property they live in, compared to a Eurozone average of 65%. This reflects a Spanish tendency to see renting as throwing away money.............. Read More >

Mayor of Marbella reaffirms pledge not to demolish any illegal homes

With a new draft of Marbella’s town plan on her desk for approval, Ángeles Muñoz, the lady Mayor of Marbella, has reaffirmed her campaign pledge not to knock down any occupied homes amongst the 18,000 illegal properties in the municipality.............. Read More >

Banks will start lending when prices stop falling

The president of the Spanish banking association, Miguel Martin, said recently that banks will start lending again when “the fear of a property price collapse” has passed. When that happens, the solvency of buyers will improve as a result, he argued.............. Read More >

Spanish land prices fall 4.8pc in a year

The average cost of land in Spain fell 4.8% over 12 months to the end of March, and 3.7% compared to the last quarter of 2008, all according to figures from the Ministry of Housing. Land now costs an average of 239 Euros/m2.............. Read More >

Construction sector output rises 3.2pc in April

The first signs are emerging that the Spanish government’s attempts to stimulate the economy might be having some effect, in the building trade at least. Spanish construction sector output rose by 3.2% in April compared to March, the second biggest month-on-month rise of any European country bar the Czech Republic, according to new figures from Eurostat............. Read More >

Mortgage activity hints at possible recovery in housing market

A slight improvement in the monthly number of new mortgages sold in March has prompted optimists to call the bottom of the Spanish property market. Though the number of new mortgages signed in March fell 25.5% compared to the same time last year, the rate of decline appeared to slow compared to monthly falls of between 30% and 46% since November last year.............Read More >

Potential tax windfall for holiday home landlords in Spain

Many of the Britons who let out their second homes in Europe could now be eligible for a tax rebate windfall paid back to them by HM Revenue and Customs. Although the most published elements of the recent Budget concentrated on tax increases, much less published is a new opportunity for owners of holiday lets in Europe.............Read More >

Banks to reduce debt-for-property swaps with developers

It's been reported recently that developers are having to drop their prices to compete with banks selling repossessions with preferential mortgage terms; now I read, in the Spanish daily El Pais, that the banks can’t cope with any more property, and have privately warned developers they won’t be swapping any more debt for properties. .............Read More >

Cost of housing falls for average family

The Cost of housing has fallen steeply for the average Spanish family in recent months, according to new figures from the Association of Developers and Constructors of Spain (APCE). If true, this might help take some of the pressure of the property market, as fewer families default on their mortgage payments.............Read More >

Mortgage repossessions surge as recession bites

Mortgage repossessions are rocketing along with Spain’s recession and rising unemployment, new figures from the commercial courts reveal. Last year there were 58,686 repossessions compared to 25,943 the year before, an increase of 126%. Mortgage lenders made more repossession requests last year than in all of 2005, 2006 and 2007 combined.............Read More >

Spanish property prices fell by -9.7%

Spanish property prices fell by -9.7% over 12 months to the end of March, according to the latest monthly Spanish property price index published by Tinsa, one of Spain’s leading appraisal companies.............Read More >

Now is the time to buy property in Spain

With property prices in some of Spain’s best resorts, villages, and beach locations at their lowest for six years, now is the time to buy property in Spain, argues a respected voice within the industry. Prices this low suggest a potential to rise significantly in years to come.............Read More >