jerry brewer

Hi All ,
With a slow down in the property market in the Uk and the threats of prices going down, has this effected the housing market in spain ?
Cheers
Jerry

Robert@Eurosettlers

Nobody can predict accurately what the property markets will do in the future, but if you want to base your own conclusion on facts go to the European Housing Review 2005, produced by the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors, viewable as a PDF on http://www.rics.org/NR/rdonlyres/FE6...ull_report.pdf The section about Spain is on pages 121-127.

Hope this proves helpful and if you would like any more impartial advice re Spain I'll be pleased to help.

JonA

We have been looking for a property in the Costa del Sol area and have been advised by various folks on this forum that the market on this Costa is totally saturated with properties for sale but with very few buyers. Having just returned from a visit I can confirm that this is correct. One nice 2 bed apartment which we viewed last October, was on the market then for €250k is now €185k but still without any offers on it.

We were advised (not by the estate agents of course) to rent first for 12 months, and I think this is good advice.

jerry brewer

Hi,
Many thanks for the replies.
It is what I thought I could see happening , but it's nice if others see a similar view.
Cheers
Jerry

meseta

Personally, I believe one should rent for a period in any new location; it makes a lot of sense to experience the local situation before making a large comittment. Again from personal experience, there are many parts of the world I would never make that comittment, having been an expatriate worker for more than 20 years. However, I feel relaxed about making my own investment here in rural Andalucia.

In my experience, working in real estate in the area west and north of Malaga, ( not on the coast , I hasten to add ) , prices for both purchases and rentals over the last three year have certainly not reduced. Demand continues to be high on rural properties in the areas around the Pizarra, Alora and Casabermeja areas. Factors which are causing this ? They are many and varied, however,the fact remains that there is a continuing stream of foreigners arriving at Malaga who have property interests on their minds in one form or another ( at Malaga airport, passenger numbers up year on year if not month on month , 11,000,000 this year projected to rise to 17,000,000 by 2009), not just Brits, but many nationalities; particularly South American, and many others with Spanish as a mother tongue. There are many reasons for folks wanting to live in this part of the world.
The fact remains that here in Andalucia we have one of the most desirable environments in which to live. Its a great place to be !

IMHO, the coast, generally, ( the Benalmadena - just west of Puerto Duquesa coastal strip ) has overbuilt, but the slowdown in sales even in that area is only temporary; within the next 12-15 months those 'bargains' of today will no longer be on offer.

Try turning left as you come out of the airport instead of the right turn that more than 90% make ! The upgrading of roads and through connections to the east will make a big difference to property values, particularly past Nerja.

Come and rent for a while to sample the way of life here, the quality of life here ! It will be interesting to see the price asked for your 2 bed apartment in say summer 2006 ! Do keep us informed.

Robert@Eurosettlers

I agree. Inland property prices are very buoyant and will continue to rise, as more and more people become more adventurous about venturing away from the coast. A predicted influx of 5.5 million new residents in coastal Spain over the period 2002-2012 should ensure that property will stay in demand. Generally property prices are expected to continue upwards even if the rate of increase slows. Where property prices appear to be stagnating it is often due to the location, environment, build density, etc of those areas. You have always been able to pick up 'cheap' properties in these areas, even during periods of excessive property price inflation. Time and time again we find that good properties in good locations sell very quickly (it's that old 'location' adage again!).

As far as the area around Nerja goes (the Axarquia region), personally it is my favourite part of southern coastal Spain. Inland are the Sierra Tejada and the hills between these and the coast are a very intimate area. The coast isn't over developed and to the east of Nerja prices will increase dramatically when the motorway is finished. A good call Meseta!