richyratton

I'm going to move to barcelona and want to buy a studio/1 bed flat there rather than rent.

My budget is about c.£60,000/€90,000 and i've had a look on www.newhabitat.com for places and it looks like i can get somewhere in the areas i'd like - el borne, cuitat vella, gracias, and even eixample, though there were no pictures on the website.

Thing is, since i've never looked for accomodation there before when i've visited, i don't know what i'm going to get for my money. Does anyone know if these prices are viable, or am i asking for trouble and going to end up with a dump? Or since i live in london, maybe everything just seems ridiculously cheap!? Are there any other 'up and coming areas' i should know about?

Anyway, i'm going to have a look for properties at the start of november, so ANY info before then (or after!) would be much appreciated!

Cheers and gracias
Richard

steveb

I'm also moving to Spain in November although down on the Costa Blanca. I to look on the net and see 'cheap' properties. Yes it's true that property is generally cheaper than London but I think the prices you quote are either very low or are for dumps! Barcelona is expensive (as are city prices the world over). Also don't forget to add 10% to the purchase price for IVA and notary/solicitor fees.

Bueno Suerte!!

Stuart & Hannah

¡Hola Richard!

Hopefully we can give you some pointers drawn from our experience....although we haven't actually bought here yet! Okay here we go....

€90,000 will get you a studio/1bed flat, but remember, on average, Spanish properties tend to be quite small compared to UK - so it's really important to visit and see what a studio/1bed flat actually looks like here....Barcelona is expensive to buy in, like all big cities, but while the Spanish property market has been booming it's not as cyclic boom/bust as in the UK....

Areas - the ones you mention - borne, ciutat vella, gracia and eixample are all quite different - but for the money you are talking about you'd have to be very careful as regards exactly where in those districts you bought - because, like anywhere, there are large variations in quality/ambience....especially at the cheaper end of the market. In our opinion Gracia and Eixample are nicer overall than Borne, Ciutat Vella - but it really depends what you are after...Gracia is very bohemian, trendy and different, whereas Eixample is architecturally interesting, University nearby etc- Borne and Ciutat Vella are more downtown but seem to be undergoing a lot of development etc.

We found the website: www.berkinder.com very helpful as it has reasonably good photos to go with their descriptions. Also, as a rule, English translation isn't direct (i.e. habitaciones= bedrooms, or simply just rooms) so we found it easier to simply read the Spanish descriptions and become familiar with their way of describing properties.

We wish you the very best of luck and hope you will love Barcelona as much as we do,
Stuart & Hannah

richyratton

Many thanks for the info! Are there any other areas i should be looking at?

Stuart & Hannah

No problems at all - yeah we do have some other ideas - but a lot depends on what exactly you are looking for etc etc - drop us an email on [email protected] and hopefully we can help you further..

Stuart and Hannah