http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/f...d-Holland.html

Some interesting remarks in the comments for this article

Nice to read comments even of those with conflicting view on a National's blogg written in decent English by educated people rather than the normal drivel and bile. (I know someone is now going to refer to the one or two rants on there lol)

This also related news.
Foreign Property Buyers


Also for those with mortgages with the UK Bank Lloyds here is some news.

I would suggest that if then the coming price crash will be a helluva lot more than 13%.
It's all very well putting those houses on the market, but if nobody who wants to buy one (i.e. people who don't already have a house) have no jobs and no prospects, there's little chance that anyone will buy them. Whatever the price.

Plus, forecasts of price drops in property tends to be a self-fulfilling prophecy. If someone credible says this, then everyone will hold off buying, in the expectation that later on the price will have dropped. So if nobody buys, the price HAS to go down - which just makes people decide to wait longer in the hope of further reductions.

Depends where you talk about. Many of the 2 million properties are in places where nobody wants to buy i.e. far from the cities or popular coastal spots

So many of those properties will simply be unsellable at almost any price while the rest of the properties go down slightly

I feel that we will see another 15-25% come off property prices

Up here in the North, the average 3 bed flat in the city is still 300-500k euros

With all these properties on their books when will banks ever be in a situation to finance more building in areas that people are prepared to buy

At the beginning of this year I was a happy and contented expat living in Spain, and somewhat hopeful of a recovery taking place at long last in this beautiful country. I could even see signs of it, unemployment had fallen slightly in my area and properties appeared to be selling again, albeit at much reduced prices.

Four months in, on Mayday, my optimism has vanished. In those short months we had Cyprus, the foreign asset nonsense and some other disasters I can't immediately recall - and shocking weather. Persistent strong winds have blown away my hopes.

And Luis Barcena, the prince of Palma and other figures at the top didn't help. You come across enough crooks at local level, but when it goes right to the top you begin to wonder what sort of society you're living in.

After the Cyprus affair I was inclined to think quite a few folk might look to the housing market for safer investments.
However with the recent govt measures to screw property owners and expats from every possible direction, I imagine such effects will be negligible and the trend may well be to get the hell out of it while you still have a shirt on your back.
Seriously who wants to buy a property and become resident here now at any price with all this heap of crap hanging over their heads.
Some may mention the Russian buyers, but I think even they will be peed off if they have to come under the same scrutiny.

Reading articles as in this case and others on Greece Cyprus etc the common theme for many things is (taken from the article in this thread)

The Spanish authorities have ordered Madrid to accelerate the pace of Sareb sales as a condition of the EU bail-out in July 2012.

Also from same article

Germany is marching to an entirely different tune from the rest of the eurozone. S&P said prices rose 3.5pc last year, and will rise 3pc this year and again in 2014. The German economy is at the other end of the property cycle with price-to-income ratios still just 80pc of historic levels.

But of course the Euro is a great Currency eh

That's because Germany actually still manufacturers things, unlike the UK where (Thanks to Maggie) people try to make a living opening doors for each other (It's called a service industry)

It was manufacturing that put the Great into Great Britain

Now manufacturing has been replaced by benefits so we have Benefit Britain.

My comment had more to do with the Eurozone than UK I agree with you but let's face it the Euro fits Germany not many of the other Euro countries that use it hence the problem for them which I can't see a way of resolving. Uk is a different matter with it's own problems and solutions what ever they are.

surely that should now be Great for Benefits Britain ??
unless there is another reason, such as the great weather, why so many people seem to want to drop anchor there

Because despite its problems it's still a great place to live.

as to a glut of Spanish property, a large percentage is built or partially built in the South of the country - where those from the North don't want to be because they have jobs which aren't available in the South.

Perhaps the Spanish Govt should be "doing a Cyprus" and taking over the empty properties and entering the Social Housing market.
Provision of council housing at reasonable rates of rent would allow families, currently living 6-8 in a 2 up 2 down terraced property, to gain the advantage of more personal space - instead of living cheek by jowl in Dickensian like crowding.

But also they should be looking at the practice of not paying Building Tax because the property isn't finished - when the upper or lower part of the property is completed and occupied but the other part remains unfinished.
We have shops occupied and paying rent whilst the flat above is unfinished. Same for flats occupied for years but because the "shop" below isn't finished then no tax paid.
One property the lower floor is being let as secure parking to locals without a garage whilst the building isn't in an occupied/completed state.

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