Gustave

Hi,

My wife and I are thinking of buying our first holiday home and am wondering if the general view is that now is the best time or if prices will fall still further ?

We'd also be very interested to know on where expats would pitch the cost of living compared with the UK at the moment ?

Any tips gratefully received.

Kind regards
Gustave

jojojojojo

Dunno about prices, but I can see them rising in the foreseeable future, too many half built and unsold empty properties around.

As for the cost of living, we were talking about this tonight and a friend who's just returned from the UK is convinced its more expensive to live here than there nowadays?? But maybe thats cos we live in the costa del sol???????????

Jo xxx

jurdyr

here few tips

An airport that has good routes to from you area are with in 2 hours travel from you house (in uk )

expats live all over spain , but main area are Mediterranean Sea area , Coast del sol , Valencia , Barcelona , Mallorca, Murcia, Alicante , Canarias and inland areas .

price are lower then 2- 3 years ago and just dont jump in buy frist place you see , shop around , price can be hight and low on the same property ...

veiw you property few times , day and night , ask around about the property
view the land registry for debt on property , make sure there no out standing debt on the property are you have two pay

jackytoo

Turbulent times, time to batten down the hatches.

johnnyone

If it is long term and you do not need to worry about tying your capital up it's as good a time as any. No different to any market really.

Don't necessarily buy a "bargain", research what you want and where you want it.

lynnxa

no-one knows if prices will fall any further - I dare say they'll go up again one day though, so if it's a long term investment I reckon now is as good a time as any

as for cost of living, Ithink on the whole it's pretty much the same as in the UK now - some areas will be cheaper some more expensive

for a holiday home though, I don't see why that would matter

Lilinspain

I concur, if its s hort term investment then more or less forget about it. But long term on the other hand is a different matter. But like naything it all depends on the deal and the location.

I know for example if you get a cracking deal in say somewhere likle the north costa blanca (Javea,Moraira) you are more likey to be able to move it easier in the future, whereas places like Murcia and Orihuela costa and along there people are really struglling to shift property.

I've heard of some real bargains of late, and just wished I had the finances to buy them to rent out, it will return one day, but who knows when !!

bobd22

Who knows the answer to that bit like guessing currency rates well they go hand in hand I suppose. with the decrease in £ strength a lot of Brit owned properties have massively been reduced so yes you would get a lot for your money now. Of course prices could drop further but will no doubt at some point go up. Main point is to choose carefully and get what you really want, if you are just doing it to make money I would forget it and wait and see what happens. Remember foresight is far better than hindsight.

Domino

we also had discussion same subject last night - don't believe all you hear about UK - it is full of people who buy things without looking at the price per kg. If they did they would be horrified Sainsburys £4.95/kg for a chicken, we paid €2.98/kg.

Yes buying the normal uk brands are dearer but if you can buy local brands then you can get good value for money
I have seen the same thing in Singapore and Hong Kong - local products are as good\better as they are formulated for the local consumption.

Live like the locals, they seem to do alright on it

steviedeluxe

I'm sure this is not restricted to just the UK. Keep an eye on product size - they're getting smaller all the time...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/mobile/magazine-13725050

anonimouse

I think nowadays, more and more folk are inclined to buy a little inland from the coast making the prices there a little more stable.

IMO the coast has so many negative news stories about it, that many who live there are themselves trying to sell up and move inland for a little more tranquility.

Cazzy1

I think Inland is cheaper than the coast. We live Inland, when we go to the coast we seem to spend a fortune. Houses are also cheaper Inland, you can get a 4 bed, 2 bath in our village for 70,000 euro. I don't think prices will be going up for a while as the market is saturated with bargains, a real buyers market. Do your research and you should get a bargain!!
Caz

jojojojojo

I'm not sure I agree with that, altho each to his own. When we first moved to Spain we were inland and stayed inland for the first three years. It was cheaper and more tranquil, but it also became boring, the novelty eventually wore off and we found that to do nearly anything we had to have a car - even to empty the bins involved driving. So we moved to the coast (we have two teenagers) and the difference has been amazing. We can now walk to the beach, but if we walk in the other direction we are in the campo, we have access to an excellent and unbelievably cheap train service,we can walk to small "local" bars or we can walk into "touristland", work has been easier to find and everything is so easily accessible! I hardly use my car these days and walking about, meeting people in the sunshine is glorious. Also the views of the sea, the sound of the waves and watching the boats going in and out of Malaga puerto from our sitting room terrace is magical

Rent first is always my advice cos you dont know what you really want til you've tried it.

Jo xxx

lynnxa

I agree

most people I know who bought villas in the hills which surround the town, although admittedly on the coast, eventually try to sell up & move to the town, Arenal or port area - simply because you can walk to pretty much everything you need

those with kids soon get fed up with being mum's or dad's taxi as the kids grow up, and the older people eventually realise that it's better to be near other people, the shops, doctors etc.

that remote villa with private pool is great for holidays, but not always so great for every day living

jackytoo

I agree too. I have lived both inland and coastal and as Jo says, choose the right location and you can get the best of both. We didn't have a house in sight on 2 sides and the garden went directly into the campo, sea views on the other side.

I know a few who live inland and they have been trying to sell for years. High price to pay for 50 cents off a beer!