Pablo the sailor

I often read negative stories on here with people trying to put people off buying thier dream home in Spain, so thought I would put my tuppence in with a slightly different slant and share our experience! Firstly, if i was going to buy as an investment I would NOT buy property in Spain, I would buy in London if within my budget or somewhere in UK (South East is looking good)........However, that was not the case for us, we came looking for a lifestyle, to rent a place limited what we could do in making the place our "real home"! So, over the years we bought 1st a business then latter a home, its been the best thing we ever did, the lifestyle has been far superior to the one we lived in the UK, were we richer? In quality of life YES, in money no! I cant help but think that people forget this at times, coming to Spain should really be a "lifestyle" decision, if you sat at your desk with your calculater the sums would tell you not to come and buy a home here! After 12 years we are putting our Marbella apartment on the market to go sailing on the next part of our adventure, will we made a fortune on our property sale, absolutely NOT, But, it was our home, we felt secure there without having a landlord to answer to all the time, at best after all the sums are done after we sell we have probably lived more or less "rent free" for much of the time we have been here, thats good enough for us, other may see things differently!

rspltd

A lot of people will have some sympathy with this approach but it surely will only be seen as a success if you achieve your asking price for your property?

Dondurma

Currently selling up in another country, been there 10 years. Bottom line is if I get what I paid out 10 years ago I will be happy. I would always look at it that way when buying abroad

Moses2013

Glad you see it as a lifestyle decision, but believe it or not, property in Spain can still be a good investment. Why on earth would one believe London is a good investment? It's exactly what people believed in some parts of Spain, when they bought overpriced properties a few years ago.

Pablo the sailor

Well, I bought in Greenwich in 2005, the Yield has never been below 6% in that time & the capital growth has been far greater than anything expected in Spain in the imediate future! rossrail is Europe biggest ever project of its kind, due to open in 2018 its expected to bring up to 40% increase on properties within a mile of a station, so yes, London is a better option if within your budget, this link shows the capital growth in London over the past 12 months Greenwich boom time as house prices in London borough rocket by 24.6% in a year - Mirror Online Back to Spain, It can be a great place to live, I certainly would not invest looking for capital growth here! BUT, if you are looking to buy a wonderful lifestyle then yes, now is a great time to buy!

johnnyone

Supply and demand.
No different whether UK or Spain.
There is a massive oversupply in parts of Spain, especially on the out of town urbs.

cricketman

London property prices are at the peak of a bubble, just like what was seen in Spain 2005-2007

Spanish property prices have been correcting to the long term average. They have not bottomed out, they are just correcting the unsustainable growth that they showed previously

There is one thing that puts me off buying property in Spain. The 7-10% purchase tax.

Moses2013

Well Greenwich isn't the whole of London and I wouldn't believe everything you hear. People have to do their own homework, but London is a fake market and the only ones making money will be the foreign investors who bought cheap sites and built apartments that sell for £800.000 (3 bed). It's unrealistic that prices will continue to rise and the only ones who suffer are the buyers today, because they believed it was a safe investment. It depends where you buy in Spain, what you buy and how much you paid, just like anywhere else. We bought in Spain last year and the value has already increased by more than 70%. Others might buy in Spain and won't see any increase for the coming years, because they buy in the wrong area. There are still plenty of good areas to buy in Spain and life goes on. Young families will always be looking for homes close to a city, with a bit of outside space (garden/terrace).

mikelincs

I think that most people on here advise people moving over to rent BEFORE a committment to buy, this is really to ensure that they do not burn their boats and then realise that the lifestyle isn't for them, when we were living in Spain, and yes we bought but sold before the price fall, we saw many people moving over, buying, then not being able to get a job etc. and having to sell, usually losing a shed load of money in the process.

Pablo the sailor

Its not a question of believing what I "hear". I know, I have owned at Royal Arsenal,Greenwich Borough, Building 36, since 2005, the phone goes every week with the agent asking me if i would consider selling as they have an "over market price" buyer! The difference between Spain & London is you cant find the distressed sales in London that you can in Spain, there is a market price & property sells very close to that price often OVER the asking price, the crossrail project is having a massive impact as well! Property in Spain has NOT seen a market value increase anywhere near 70% in just 12 months? If you managed to pick up some sort of crazy "distressed sale, well that is another story!



Regarding people buying homes in Spain BEFORE they have a fully secure job if they need a job here?? Well that is just ridiculous?

Most Brits who buy in Spain have already spent many holidays here, it is the UKs number 1 foreign holiday destination for a reason after all! I dont dig all this "renting for a few years to see if we like it".....A couple of months perhaps, yes, makes sense!

So, to end, if you have some available funds, you like Spain and would like to buy a "lifestyle" over the next 10 years then this is the place to come, I dont think properties will drop much more than they have already & even if they did a little, there really is not much further to fall, the worst drop has already happened........you could of course sit and wait for the next 10 years, pay rent and see what happens....................Or, enjoy your home in the sunshine for those 10 years...

Moses2013

See and that's the problem. You're selling, but if you were to buy today, it wouldn't be a great investment.

Pablo the sailor

Oh dear

Its well documented that Crossrail will bring up to 40% increase over the next 5 years to properties within reach of stations, so YES, London is a good investment today and certainly a better one than Spain!

I am NOT selling the London property

Greenwich boom time as house prices in London borough rocket by 24.6% in a year - Mirror Online

That report Shows over just the past 12 months how the market has gone to anyone who bought property in those areas, some of us speculated back in 2005 that there would be a DLR and crossrail at Royal Arsenal!
I own property in BOTH UK and Spain, it would be silly of me to even think that the spain property is a better investment than UK!

Spain is what it is, a great "lifestyle"......thats is what you buy here.........

cricketman

You are setting yourself up for a fall

1. Of course prices can come down further in Spain. They are not particularly cheap compared to average salaries. The average house price in Spain is still between 6-8 times the average salary. 4 times average salary is the long term average
2. London house prices are now at 10 times average London salary. They are at the same levels Spain experienced before the 2007 house price crash

Nobody can guess the future. However, I urge people to always do the sums carefully before buying. In my opinion it should be somewhere they see themselves in for the next 15-20 years.

Nobody should buy as an investment unless they have a very wide investment portofolio. The days of capital growth in property and decent rental yields are long gone

Pablo the sailor

No fall for me, 10 years of growth, quite happy to sit on the yield for the next 15 years....But mark my words, Crossraill will change London forever!

Spain, .........IS a lifestyle investment into your quality of life!

Moses2013

The mirror article is totally misleading and tell me where it's documented that prices will increase by 40% in the next 5 years Just because one area has seen an increase, doesn't mean that it counts for all types of properties available in that area and will continue that way. From boom to bust and it's always been that way. The property you have in Spain might not be a good investment, because it's in the wrong location, it's an apartment block and you bought at the wrong time. If you bought the right property in Spain today in the right location, it might be a better investment.