Re: Newbie and loads of questions!
 

Also have a look at : Notes in Spanish, by Ben Curtis and Marina Diez. They have lots of ( Free) download podcasts which you can put onto an MP3 player and learn whilst you do other tasks, and they have 3 levels: beginner, intermediate and advanced. But don't do what I did and start to reply whilst listening on the bus to work!
Pete

Re: Newbie and loads of questions!
 

Great advice:p

Wait till the prices are up:p

Re: Newbie and loads of questions!
 

To be fair, if you feel prices will never recover or take decades in doing so, then it makes sense to rent and never buy. But, if there is to be a recovery (and looking at the increase in tourism numbers, and yes, the unemployment figures, which have fallen now for 2 months) then at some point house prices will recover too. May be hard to judge the turning point though - will it be this summer, or next, or the following year? But as anonimouse points out, if you wait until you're sure prices are rising, you've probably already missed the chance of getting a bargain. And if you're sure you're buying for the long-term, what difference does it make if you just miss the lowest point. Choose the place you know you'll be happy in, then price fluctuations won't affect your mood at all.
Good luck!:fingerscrossed:

Re: Newbie and loads of questions!
 

Don't think the turning point will be this summer. Latest figures in the news today say that sales in malaga province were down 30% compared to last April and they were dire last year. Not bottomed yet!

Re: Newbie and loads of questions!
 

Of course we can only make a guesstimate, and like you, I think there is still more grief to come, unfortunately. Of course we'd expect the unemployement figures to drop at the beginning of the summer, the same as they'll increase at the end, tourism is still a big employer in Spain, but moreso in the summer months. If I was looking to buy I don't think I'd be investing just yet, although I did read some estate agents saying that the cheapest apartments in Madrid had already gone, prices are on the up, buy quick!;) But then they would say that.

Re: Newbie and loads of questions!
 

No, I wouldn't suggest waiting that many years, but it would make sense to wait another couple of years at least. And that advice has come from the Bank of Spain.

Re: Newbie and loads of questions!
 

Well yes, and I think Madrid would be a different market entirely to the Andalucian coast. And even there location would make a huge difference. Buy a flat in central Madrid and you'd always be able to let it out to English teachers/students/expats. Every Autumn there are expats desperately seeking rooms to rent out for the academic year. Plus, as the capital, many of the nations' startups and major company head offices are located there, so you have people earning money with a need to find accommodation. However I suspect that developments far from the centre will still find the old high prices have gone for a while. I just wish I'd been in a position to buy a Madrid flat in 1997-2000 - I'd have made an absolute fortune. But I suppose that's true of many places, so long as you got out 2 years back.

Re: Newbie and loads of questions!
 

How much more in % terms do you see property prices falling & over what period ??

Claudia

Re: Newbie and loads of questions!
 

15 per cent decline over the next two years
Excellent article here on why it may take 24 years to clear the stock of unsold houses
http://ftalphaville.ft.com/blog/2011...th-of-housing/

Re: Newbie and loads of questions!
 

I would take any predictions, in either direction, with a large dose of salt. We on this board have been trying to guess the pound rate vs the Euro for years. So far as I'm aware, no-one's really got it right, and quite a few have bravely predicted 1 pound to be worth 1.30 Euros. Which hasn't happened.

Remember Ireland? Another Euro country, that was heavily in debt, and actually needed bail-outs from both the EU and from the UK? Well they're not out of the wood yet, but there are strong signs that a recovery is on the cards:

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/...5.html?via=rel

Even in spain there are signs of recovery eg good increases in tourist numbers, and exports doing well. And you're starting to see institutions look at investing in the country eg Barclays are looking into investing in a Caja, and this company is also targeting Spain

http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-...09-710709.html

Of course, they may be equally misguided. I think Spain's economic fortunes (exports, tourism, housing markets) depend on a common factor - foreign economies doing well. so perhaps the question should be - Will Europe's economy continue to recover? Remember that Germans (for example) buy property in Spain too. Once the house prices reduce to the right levels, and the general Europe economic climate gets better, there will be buyers.

Re: Newbie and loads of questions!
 

Its all about location.
I am no expert but actually think prices in working towns of Spain are bottoming out while the speculative developments aimed at incomers still have some way to go.
Mind you on another thread I predicted that the pound will be 1.25 by September and that's looking unlikely.
If you go onto www.kyero.com it gives price data that may be of interest.

Re: Newbie and loads of questions!
 

Agree, I wouldn't make any decisions based on anything you read here, or on past performance, anything in the financial press either!:) "Experts" abound on these type of forums, and most have been miles out!;)

Re: Newbie and loads of questions!
 

Some analysts in the Uk are predicting that house prices in Britain will continue downwards until 2015 if they are correct I cannot see house prices in Spain, particularly with the present unemployment, rising before then.

Graham

Re: Newbie and loads of questions!
 

2. Would it be better to buy a holiday apartment and then upgrade to a house when we move out full time or go for the house straight away?

The problem with apartments is that unless you are on the top floor, you have to put up with a lot of noise from above. Chairs being scraped accross floors, clompy shoes (especially high heels) back and forth, things dropping with a bang on the floor, not to mention the bass from loud music being transmitted through the floor (they don't have carpets). And then in the summer, when doors and windows are left open, there's the chatter from the balconies late into the night.
I know, I and I bet a few other members have been there :thumbdown:

John

Re: Newbie and loads of questions!
 

Like I said, I wouldn't make any financial decision based on what the analysts are predicting, it's a guess at best. I think we are in uncharted territory, any manner of things could happen in the next four years, look at the last four!:) They may be proved to be right, but I bet there are other experts telling us the complete opposite.