Lionda

Bad situation over there isn't it.

rugbymatt

Its starting to slide, not as bad as it has been, and some areas are absolutely booming, but its starting to shift that's for sure.

leighbloke

Only for chancers, I think a few peeople will get burned fingers out of this. Hopefully the developers will start to build houses for people to live in again though - instead of building off the peg buy-to-lets.

poshnbucks

I think the bubble had to burst across the whole of the western world as property prices outstripped wages it had to burst. I do not have a mortgage and do not intend to move house in the near future, So it does not effect me however back in the UK, I remember buying my first house when mortgage rates were 15 per cent. Things have a way of going full circle it depends at what stage you jump on the ride, There does appear to have been a building frenzy in Spain but good property will always hold its price and people are getting more aware of the pit falls of no research before signing anything thanks to forums like this and the press and television so bite the bullet and cut your cloth to suit do not use your credit card for cash withdrawals shop at lidals for your cleaning/washing materials and cook once or twice a week at home also cut down on your SKY package do you really need the movie channel or sky sports I had them all and paid for two packages one for the main bedroom and one for the sitting room *high Def I have cut them both down to the basic and miss nothing you get prem football live on spanish freeview. Life in spain is good and summers coming Now Lunch is calling hmmmmm Iberia ham and chilled rose wine.....UK anyone

twyntub

Many homes here have had as much as 35% knocked off their asking price in the last few months. Some estate agents haven't made a sale in months, which backs up the view of locals who believe properties are still overpriced and that another fall wouldn't be out of the question. But that's not to say that prices will fall by half - more that the original asking price was simply double what it should have been!! Indeed, why pay 200.000€ for a 3 bed house in need of TLC set in a couple of acres of land when they're building the same thing new up the road from 160.000€ and haven't sold any for almost a year!

In La Romana there are new flats from 70.000€ and estate agents windows have newly renovated rural properties from just over 100.000€. A friend of ours is selling one, and I know he only paid 20.000 in 2006 and spent 35.000 on the renovations. So there's still profit to be made even at that price.

At the end of the day, we all need a roof over our heads, and even though rental prices are cheap in Spain, buying amongst this doom and gloom frenzy is looking increasingly affordable again. If you've got a reasonable (30%) deposit then the mortgage on a rural inland retreat over 25 years is now probably within 200€ a month of the cost of renting the same property.

As long as you pay a realistic price for the property in the first place (read: rent first if you want a good deal), and get the legals thoroughly checked out by an independent solicitor, then you should be fine. And if the market continues to fall? Who cares, you're living there, and let's face it you didn't pay that much for the property in the first place.

george43

I find it a bit surprising that most of the properties on Estate Agents web sites are still the same price as they were 6 months ago.

spanishfamily

That's because most of the owners are Spanish and they are under no pressure to sell their houses. The Spanish move home very rarely during their lives. They also think nothing of waiting 3, 4 or more years to sell their houses. Many Spaniards have put their homes on the market in recent years thinking that if somebody is going to pay them a million euros (or some other price that would have seemed like a fortune a few years ago) for the family farmhouse then they'll sell it! But if they're not going to get those prices then they're not bothered about selling.

thinking_about_it

Yes, thank you very much for your original post - I ended up doing a lot of my own research and realised that it's best to wait many years before even thinking about it.

It's interesting to see some of the early posts on the first few pages of this thread ridiculing your original warning.

Article in yesterday's Observer: Plunging prices cause pain in Spain and trap desperate Brits abroad
Thank you from saving me from a whole world of trouble, Iván.

thinking_about_it

There is an awesome Firefox plugin that tracks Rightmove price changes called 'Property Bee' that can be downloaded here: http://www.property-tools.co.uk

Mitzyboy

The power of the internet ...... we're putting an offer in on a flat in the UK and I'm able to see what it sold for 3 years ago

EsuriJohn

That rather depends on how old you are when you start to think about the move. Once you reach 60 mortality becomes a factor in your considerations.

EsuriJohn

Since 2000 the Land Registry have made public the true price paid for all registered property transactions in England and Wales. It is interesting to compare the sold price with the asking price but there is a min 3 month delay after the sold board goes up.

casa del sol

This can't be true, can it?

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5h...h80iAD904PE180

jdr

This is Spain anything can happen........

This little place is illegal and nobody noticed it being built and they are still advertising apartments for sale.

casa del sol

I hope whoever buys it has done their homework.